Danzo's Team
by kosmos00
Summary: Danzo asks to be Team 7's Jounin. Follows Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke as they grow into their positions. Kakashi is still in the fic. A more military take on the Narutoverse, will try to focus on ninja using tricks instead of brute force. strong!team.
1. Prologue

Thanks for reading my first ever fanfiction.

A few notes:

I use English terms for most things. The only things I use the Japanese terms for are things I believe lose their nuances when translated or things I don't know the translations for.

PROLOGUE

Hiruzen Sarutobi released the telescope technique and pulled the cover back over his crystal ball. He took a long breath and let a smile spread across his face; he decided he was proud of Naruto. On one hand the boy should have known better than to fall for Mizuki's rather blatant manipulations. On the other no student should be penalized for listening to their teacher, and Naruto had performed very well. Mastering shadow clone in less than a day was nothing short of extraordinary.

Sarutobi stroked his beard and a guilty thought crossed his mind; for all his treachery Mizuki had done Sarutobi a great favor by telling Naruto about the fox. He had not been looking forward to explaining that particular secret to Naruto. And then there was Iruka. Sarutobi made a mental note to do something nice on Iruka's next paycheck. The man had recovered a priceless national treasure and aiding in capturing a traitor. Maybe an A-rank payment?

Sarutobi's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he noticed a presence waiting calmly outside his door. He called out, "Enter," and schooled his face into a contemplative mask as Shimura Danzo walked into his office.

The bandaged man nodded his head briefly and said, "Hiruzen."

"Shimura. The forbidden scroll has been recovered; I am afraid that we have no need for ROOT hunter-nin after all."

"And the fox?"

Sarutobi kept the frown off his face, but couldn't help but make a point. "_Naruto_ was actually instrumental to stopping the traitor responsible. For his defeat of the traitor, a Chunin instructor, Naruto has been given a merit promotion to Genin on the authority of Chunin Iruka Umino."

"Do you intend to approve the merit promotion?"

Sarutobi couldn't keep the anger from his voice when he asked, "Do you have a reason I should not?" He made a mental vow, if Shimura said the fox he was going to beat some sense into him, consequences be damned.

"Is he actually ready?"

Sarutobi's thoughts came to an abrupt pause. "He mastered the shadow clone in a single night. I am confidant that his jounin-sensei will be able to correct any holes in his education."

Danzo was quiet a moment, Sarutobi just stared at him across the dark office wondering what the man was thinking. Their was a rapid almost excited tone in his voice when Danzo asked, "Which team do you intend to place Naruto on?"

Sarutobi wondered what Danzo was playing at and replied, "He will be placed on Team 7 with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Their jounin-Sensei will be Kakashi Hatake."

"So your giving Kushina's kid to the scarecrow?"

"His heritage is a S-Class secret."

"No his relation to the fourth is. Being Kushina's son is just a bit obvious, you called him Uzumaki after all."

"Its almost like someone on the council insured that loophole existed so they could complain."

"I cannot confirm or deny such allegations."

The room fell silent. Sarutobi calmly waited for Danzo to work through whatever train of thoughts seemed to be driving him to distraction. "I wish to reapply to the ninja ranks conditional on becoming the jounin-Sensei of the newly founded team 7."

Sarutobi sputtered. Danzo had to force the grin off his face, such a display of emotion was unbecoming of a ninja no matter how much fun it was to screw with his rival. Sarutobi recovered and asked, "What about ROOT?"

"It is at the stage where day to day operations can be handled effectively by my subordinates."

"I see. May I ask your reasons?"

"I have always wanted to defeat you; How could I pass up the opportunity to instruct someone who has accomplished my lifelong goal as a mere academy student." Danzo really enjoyed watching Sarutobi overcome by a sudden bout of coughing. He made a mental note to do something nice for Naruto whether he could become his teacher or not.

Sarutobi ignored the blush that was spreading across his face and asked, "May I ask your real reasons?"

"Kakashi was chosen because of his ability to instruct the last Uchiha in the sharingan correct?"

"Yes, though his teacher was also a factor once Naruto became a genin."

"That sounds suspiciously like you manipulated the whole scroll situation to insure the boy advanced."

A big grin spread over Sarutobi's face and he deadpanned, "I cannot confirm or deny such allegations."

"The last Uchiha has not yet awoken his sharingan, and Kakashi is … unsuited to instructing this group."

"Oh?" Sarutobi gestured for Danzo to go on.

"He is too involved emotionally in this particular group, and the man has demonstrated a distinct lack of interest in teaching in the past."

"So you want to involve Kakashi as a supplementary instructor once Sasuke awakens his sharingan, but why do you want to teach the team?"

"A legacy. The last loyal user of the Sharingan, and the jailor of the kyuubi both will inevitability become powerful ninja. I have spent my life building the roots of Kohona, but as I grow older I find that I want the leaves to remember me as well."

"I noticed you have no interest in Sakura."

"I have every attention of beating her into a useful ninja or driving her from the program, there is no place for fan-girls in the ninja ranks."

"You can't just run her out of the ranks. She's from a civilian family and graduated top kunoichi of her class. Running her out at this point would be a giant slap in the face to the civilian sector."

"Oh the dubious joys of propaganda." Danzo let himself frown a bit, "None the less, I will make her into a proper ninja or see her gone."

Sarutobi's frown returned at the word beating. "I won't allow you to condition them like you do your ROOT."

Danzo let an easy mocking grin spread across his face. "They are rather public figures for that. However, I will not hold back out of some misplaced sympathy." Danzo watched Sarutobi's frown deepen and guessed the source of his agitation. "You did your best to prevent Naruto from becoming a weapon, but he isn't a child anymore, he is a genin of Kohona."

"I will not let you make him a weapon." Sarutobi hadn't raised his voice, but Danzo had the distinct impression that he was seconds away from death. Danzo could feel the pressure of the third Hokage's killing intent beating down on him.

"The time to make him a weapon has passed. I want to make him a solider." The killing intent disappeared. The room fell quiet again and Danzo wondered if Sarutobi was about to call his ANBU.

"Shimura Danzo, I accept you into the ranks of the ninja of the leaf. Do you swear to uphold the ideals of the will of fire and obey the commands of the Hokage?"

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"Very well, jounin Shimura Danzo pick up your team tomorrow." Danzo turned for the door. The Hokage waited for him to open it and said, "Remember Shimura I will be watching."

Danzo allowed a smile to spread across his normally emotionless face, and walked from the office. Sarutobi waited for the door to his office to close and said, "ANBU-san I need to you carry a message to jounin Kakashi. I will be returning to the mansion, you may meet me there."


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Naruto's alarm went off at precisely 6:45, and was immediately struck on the snooze button. Ten minutes later the process repeated. Then again. Naruto finally got up an hour later and abruptly screamed, "I'm late!" An extremely quick an cold shower later and a cup of Ramen later Naruto rushed out the door.

A different teacher was at the front of the class when Naruto walked in. He blinked twice then he yawned and rubbed his eyes. Fifteen minutes were not enough time to prepare. Then saw the seat next to Sakura was open. After a mental shout of LUCKY! He rushed over and sat down next to her.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked with a frown, before he could speak . That frown grew when she saw the metal plate with the Konoha leaf around his neck. "You didn't graduate."

"Hey Hey. Can't you see this forehead protector?" Naruto proudly tapped the protector Iruka-sensei had given him. Sakura gave him a disbelieving look, but before she could protest Iruka walked into the room.

"All right, quiet down. We are going to be assigning you to your teams." The class didn't quiet down in the slightest. Iruka made a boar seal and invoked his terrifying giant head technique before shouting, "QUIET DOWN YOU BRATS!" The class went abruptly quiet. Iruka released the skill and his head returned to its normal size. Iruka addressed the class and gave the class of academy graduates its last real lecture. "Beginning today you are all real ninja.. But you are still merely rookie genin. The hard part has just started. Now.. You will soon be assigned duties by the village. So today we will be creating the 3 man teams.. And each team will have a Jounin-sensei. You will follow that sensei's instructions as you complete the assigned duties. Now for team 1.."

Naruto tuned out everyone as he repeated, 'Sakura-chan..Then anyone but Sakuke!' in his head like a mantra against evil.

"Sakura Haruno! Naruto Uzumiaki! Sasuke Uchiha, you are on Team 7." Iruka cut Naruto off before he could protest the team assignments, the last thing Naruto needed was to irritate his jounin instructor on the first day. "Your Jounin is Shimura Danzo-San."

An old bandaged man and the back of the room raised his cane and said, "Team 7 will meet me at training ground seven." Danzo abruptly body flickered away. All three members of team 7 abruptly despaired. Their jounin was an old man.

Iruka kept reading off teams as they left the classroom. Naruto broke the silence as they walked together, "So where's training ground seven anyway?"

"Naruto you idiot, the training grounds are in order from the gate."

Sasuke grunted and wondered where in the hell Sakura had learned that from. It certainly hadn't been in any of their academy lessons. He pushed the thought from his mind and went back to brooding over their jounin-sensei. Their was no way he would get strong enough to kill his brother training under some has been. He would have to request a reassignment as soon as possible, that way he could leave the idiots behind also.

DTDTDTDT

Training ground seven was a big clearing surrounded on three sides by the woods that backed up to a small pond. Team seven sat down near the small tree in the middle of the clearing and waited. Sakura tried to get Sasuke to sit next to her, but was dismissed with a grunt that finally set Naruto off. He pointed and shouted at Sasuke. "Why does an outstanding Ninja like me have to be on the same team as a bum like you!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO SASUKE-KUN?" Naruto winced and closed his eyes as Sakura swung a fist at him. There was a loud thump and Sakura was flying across the grass.

Naruto opened his eyes to see Sakura sprawled across the grass wheezing for air. Naruto was beside her in a second, "Are you okay Sakura-chan?"

A deep and disgusted voice broke his attention. Their jounin instructor had arrived. "Worthless! I send three genin to unfamiliar territory and they don't even bother to observe their surroundings. Moreover they bicker among themselves. You blonde brat. Your on the this team because Sasuke's grades were first among all 27 graduates, and you were dead last. Be grateful we found a team for you." He turned his eyes of the wheezing form of Sakura. "Pinky striking a teammate outside of a spar is absolutely forbidden. The next time any of you violate this rule I will see you stripped from the ninja program entirely. Am I Understood?"

Naruto gave an unenthusiastic "Yes" while Sasuke grunted and Sakura tried to get enough breath to respond.

"Yes, WHAT?" Danzo decided that he would treasure the look on the three genin's faces for the rest of his days. He wondered if this was why Sarutobi loved teaching. He just forced his face to look more and more enraged as Naruto tried to figure out what he was saying and the Uchiha brat argued with his pride.

Finally Sakura recovered her breath enough to firmly say, "Yes, Sensei." Naruto immediately copied her while Sasuke grunted again. Danzo narrowed his eyes at the boy and mentally debated the consequences of beating the treasured last Uchiha within an inch of death.

The boy finally gave in an muttered, "Yes, Sensei."

Danzo made a mental note to work on the boy's respect for authority before he instructed, "I will train you each personally one day at the start of the week. You will practice what I have assigned on your own while your teammates are in individual training. On Thursday's we will conduct team training. Friday's will be used to complete missions. Saturday's will be reserved for additional instruction of my choice. Sunday's will be a free day. Am I Clear?"

The three answered quicker this time, "Yes, Sensei."

Danzo muttered, "Maybe you can learn," just loud enough for the three of them to hear. Then continued his speech. "As of today there is a ban on inter-squad relationships and flirting in general during duty hours. I don't care what you do during your off day, but when you are under my command you have better things to do than asking for dates or trying to seduce someone." Naruto and Sakura gave him a a pair of horrified looks which he ignored with great ease. He stared at them another moment then relented, "Naruto, I will train you today. Sakura you will not perform strenuous activities that will further aggravate your no doubt bruised chest today."

Danzo took a few steps then noticed Naruto wasn't following. He kept the exasperation from his face and yelled, "Come on brat!" Naruto cringed and jumped after Danzo.

Danzo came to a stop in a small clearing nearby, and said, "We will begin by evaluating your skills." Danzo sat his cane down and fell into a stance. He reached his single arm towards Naruto and instructed, "First a spar, taijutsu only."

Naruto immediately charged the old man, screaming at the top of his lungs. He then found himself abruptly flipping through the air, until his face dug a small trench in the earth. Danzo's deep voice boomed behind him, "Ninja's do not scream when they attack. Again!" Naruto growled and charged Danzo again. Danzo blocked Naruto's wild blows easily as Naruto tried to pummel him. When Naruto tried to catch him off guard with a sudden and terribly unbalanced high kick, Danzo decided he had seen enough. He caught the boy's leg and suddenly reversed the Naruto's momentum sending him to dig another trench near the first.

"Terrible, did you even go to the academy?" Naruto snarled and picked himself up, obviously ready to continue. Danzo frowned at his student before the boy could charge him and said, "Sit down and calm yourself." Naruto blinked and did as he was told; Danzo retrieved his cane and sat down in front of Naruto. "Ninja cannot afford to let emotion rule their sense on the battlefield. A display like you have put on today can cost lives Naruto." Danzo shaped his face into that stern but fatherly glare of Sarutobi's that had annoyed him so much in the past, and continued, "Ninja must remain calmly analytical in order to perceive and exploit their opponents weaknesses. You on the other hand are a brawler and a terrible one at that."

Naruto's face broke out in a pout, forcing Danzo to suppress a sigh. He decided to change the subject to something that he could complement Naruto on before the boy decided to mouth off again. "Tell me each of the ninjutsu you have mastered."

Naruto's face immediately brightened. Danzo didn't know whether to be happy with his success or disgusted with ho easy it was to manipulate the kid. He mad a mental not to address that and turned his attention to his student in time to hear, "disguise, substitution, sexy and shadow clone."

'Sexy?' Danzo immediately wondered. Then he had to keep a giant grin off his face as he mentally complemented Naruto's victory over Sarutobi. When he recovered he decided to go through with his planned complement, the boy probably didn't receive very many anyway. "That is very impressive Naruto, shadow clone is a jounin level skill, I have never heard of a genin with it in his repertoire. Now please produce a shadow clone." Danzo was whistling a happy tune in his head, time for some stress relief and to teach a lesson.

Naruto jumped up and screamed out **Shadow Clone**. Danzo suppressed a wince, and made a mental note to work on the noise level. Otherwise he was tremendously impressed, Naruto had mastered the reduced seal version. He briefly wondered if Naruto's academy record was accurate, then ten annoying clone opened their mouth's and assured him it was, "I'm the best, Believe it!" It took sixty years of experience to keep the horror off of his face; the boy had inherited the Uzumaki verbal tick.

Danzo's voice was very calm when he asked, "Will the real one please go stand behind that tree?" One of the blonds broke off the group and hid behind the tree. Danzo gestured for a clone to come closer and whispered, "The number is twenty-three," into its ear moments before ramming his cane through its chest. He channeled wind chakra through his staff and brutally cut apart the other clones.

"Hey what was that for?"

Danzo resisted the urge to tell the brat stress relief. Instead he queried, "What is the number?"

"Twenty-three." A look of confusion spread across Naruto's face, "Hey how do I know that Danzo-sensei?"

"Shadow clone is a forbidden technique for several reasons. First its splits a users chakra amongst the clones created, which almost guarantees chakra exhaustion for anyone short of jounin. Even then most jounin couldn't throw around the number of clones you seem to employ, which brings us to the second reason shadow clone is forbidden. You gain all the memories of a clone when its destroyed."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"To some extent, yes. But absorbing to many memories at the same time can easily cause brain damage if it doesn't kill you outright. For this reason during training you will create no more than ten shadow clones a day, and will release them sequentially."

Naruto's face scrunched up, "Sequentially?"

Danzo resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "One by one." Danzo paused a moment then decided he might as well finish the explanation, maybe it would wise the boy up to politics. "Those are the two official reasons shadow clone is forbidden. However, both of those drawbacks could be easily handled by a jounin or an exceptional chunin. The real reason shadow clone is forbidden is pride and politics"

"Huh?"

"The shadow clone is one of the very few clone techinques that can fool a byakugan or a sharingan. The Hyuga and the Uchiha made the addition of the shadow clone jutsu to the forbidden scroll one of their conditions for joining the village. The Shodai thought that this was a fair trade, especially since most of the experienced Senju could perform the technique and could pass it on to their descendents as a 'family technique'. Unfortunately the Senju have with a sole exception died out and the shadow clone has become a largely lost technique." Danzo idly wondered how much it would piss off Sarutobi if he told the kid that several of the Senju had married into the Uzumaki. The total confusion spreading across Naruto's face made him dismiss the idea.

"Why would they care if someone from Kohona could fool them. We're all on the same side."

Danzo was truly and deeply impressed by the level of naivety that statement betrayed; fortunately he knew exactly how to explain the situation. "Naruto you and Sasuke are on the same team right?"

Naruto looked down and gave a barely audible, "I guess."

"Do you want to let Sasuke show you up all the time because your on the same side?"

"NO WAY!" Danzo winced at the blonde's noise level. Then Naruto realized what he had be getting at with a soft, "Oh."

Danzo grabbed his cane and slowly stood up. He waited for Naruto to stand then instructed, "You are dismissed for lunch, return within an hour for the afternoon session. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sensei!" Naruto cheered and then vanished into the woods. Danzo allowed himself a small smirk, Naruto would be the first one to put the appropriate amount of enthusiasm into a confirmation. He walked back into the main clearing to see Sakura lying beneath the single shade tree watching with stars in her eyes as Sasuke shot fireballs into the woods.

It took sixty years of self control not the beat the idiots within an inch of their lives. He had told the girl light training not sit on your dead ass and stare at your crush, and he certainly hadn't told either of them burn the woods down. It took Danzo several seconds to recover enough to dismiss them for lunch. When they were gone he walked over and examined the scorched trees that had stood since the Second had trained his teams here. They would live, a testament to the thick bark their age had given them.

He found his great relief that his bento was only slightly scorched in its hiding place among the trees. He resolved to make the uchiha's first day of personal training hell and sat down against the smoking wood to enjoy his lunch. He popped an octopus ball in his mouth and spent a moment savoring the flavor before he turned his attention to his problem of the day, Naruto. He mused, 'The boy is basically an academy student. His taijutsu is terrible and he only has a single ninjutsu of note. The only really extraordinary thing about him is his lineage and his absurd chakra capacity.' He enjoyed another octopus ball then added, 'And the noise level.' A few pickled radishes later Danzo decided he would continue with his original plan and test the boy's weapon skills, stealth, trap detection and trap construction in the afternoon session. He would have to find another opportunity to evaluate Naruto's espionage skills.

Danzo quickly finished off his lunch and disposed of the bento. He needed to set up a couple traps before the brats showed back up.

DTDTDT

Naruto was on his fourteenth bowl of miso ramen to the horror of Ichiraku's other patrons when he bothered to check the time. He spent the next minute wondering if he could finish another bowl before he left, but eventually decided against it. He produced his frog wallet and paid the bill before rushing off towards training ground seven while screaming, "Thanks Ayame-chan!" at the top of his lungs.

To his great amazement he was the first one back to the training ground; he started to sit beneath the shade tree so he could finish digesting his meal of delicious delicious ramen. Then he remembered Danzo-sensei screaming at them that morning about not checking their surroundings. Naruto decided to look around, maybe if he found something Danzo-sensei would teach him a cool technique that he could use to impress Sakura-chan.

Naruto found Danzo-sensei sitting in the middle of the clearing they had practiced in during the morning. He had jabbed his cane into the ground and was leaning against it; his unbandaged eye was closed. Naruto wondered if his sensei was asleep, and decided to take advantage of this golden opportunity to get a little revenge for Sakura-chan and that unfair rule about asking for dates. He quietly walked into the clearing only to feel his foot catch on something.

Their was a faint clicking noise, and Naruto's eyes widened just in time for the ground to start exploding. He rolled forward before the explosions could reach him and felt another wire trigger. Suddenly the ground beneath him came alive and he was dragged into the trees by a concealed net. A third trap triggered and little stones started pelting him from every direction.

Danzo managed to not snicker at the great number of explicatives raining down from the net. Their was obviously at least one area where Naruto's vocabulary wasn't stunted. The rock launchers he set up finally ran out of ammo, and he called up to Naruto, "Trap Detection, Failed. Though your stealth is very good for a genin, I didn't hear you till you entered the clearing." Danzo decided not to mention he could sense the absurd amount of chakra Naruto emitted from a good bit further.

"Umm Danzo-sensei, can you let me down?"

Danzo put on his best impression of Sarutobi's grandfather face in case the boy could see him, then said, "Sure," in a tone that made Naruto seriously question the wisdom of his last request. Before Naruto could change his mind Danzo snapped off a Kunai to cut the rope holding the net up in the trees. Danzo made sure to keep up the grandfather face as the boy fell screaming to the forest floor.

'That looks like it hurt.' Danzo mused as he walked over to where Naruto was twitching on the ground. He gave Naruto a small smile that wasn't reciprocated before saying, "You have ten minutes to prepare the clearing with whatever traps you can construct. After which I will enter and you are to engage me with weapons only."

There was a grown then Naruto responded, "Yes, sensei." Naruto hurried to untangle himself, ten minutes wasn't very long and he really wanted a little revenge. That smile was creeping him out, it looked just like old man hokage's smile. A big foxy smile spread over his face, evil old man smile or not, Danzo-sensei had challenged the prank master of Konoha to a game on his home field. He had twenty feet of ninja wire, ten kunai, ten shuriken, a smoke grenade and some paint; time to get to work.

DTDTDTDT

Danzo walked towards the clearing. He could sense eight or nine separate chakra sources in the woods around the clearing and one in the center. He mentally congratulated his student on utilizing shadow clone to compensate for the short time frame. Danzo almost laughed when he saw a Naruto sitting in the center of the clearing leaning up against a stick with his eyes closed. The urge to laugh increased when he heard the soft snores coming from his student. He resisted the urge to throw a kunai to see if it was the real one or not, Sarutobi wouldn't approve if he sent a genin to the hospital after all.

He was almost disappointed when he saw the tripwire. It was fairly good, compairable to the work of an experienced genin but he had expected better. He stepped over it cautiously and almost put his foot down before he noticed a slight ripple in the ground. He looked at the buried tripwire he had almost set off and mentally congratulated his student. 'Excellent, Naruto, that would have fooled most chunin, but you'll have to do better.'

He found a safe place to advance towards the sleeping blonde, and was about to rudely wake Naruto when he heard a deep rumbling in the woods. A great red serpent with foul yellow smoke pouring from its mouth crashed trough the trees towards Danzo. For a moment Danzo's mind shut down, then it started screaming at the top of its lungs. He planted his feet and thrust his cane towards the beast, **Wind Style:Three Vacuum Spears**.

Shuriken rained down from various angles, forcing Danzo to sign quickly and strike the ground, **Earth Style: Rocky Shield**. He was about to counter when he felt someone jab a kunai towards his back. He was about to cut them down with his wind chakra cane when he heard Naruto shout, "You have two arms!"

He remembered exactly what he was doing. He caught Naruto's hand and said in a calm a voice as he could manage, "Enough." He wondered, 'How am I going to explain this?' Before forcing himself to relax. Danzo looked back at the snake and realized it was nothing more than a tree trunk with a snake head crudely carved on one end. The smoke had been a smoke bomb jammed in the things mouth. His now calm mind wondered, 'How in the hell did he pull this off in ten minutes. Where did he get the paint anyway.' Danzo looked at Naruto sitting nearby with a nervous expression on his face and wondered how to score, 'Made me think Orochimaru was coming to eat me' on a standard trap skill level assessment.

"Yes I have two arms. I don't normally use my right arm outside of actual combat." He waved his metal shrouded arm for emphasis. "It's a replacement for an old injury and doesn't react very well to sustained use. Forcing me to pull it out was excellent Naruto" He slipped the arm back in its sling while the boy beamed. "Lets start at the beginning of this test, explain your decisions for setting up the first two tripwires the way you did."

"The first wire was a distraction, it didn't go anywhere." Danzo nodded, he had expected that. "But I had two clones up in the trees nearby. If you had triggered it they would have pelted you as though they were a kunai trap hopefully without giving up their positions."

Danzo mentally smiled and decided, 'That layering is clever, even though I doubt it would have worked.'

"The second trap was made entirely of shadow cloned wire that I buried. It was tensed right up to the breaking point, so when someone stepped on it the wire would dismiss and release all those rock traps of yours I collected."

"That is an impressive level of familiarity with shadow clone, Naruto. Tell me how did you decide to apply it in that way?"

Naruto looked distinctly embarrassed, "Umm I ran out of normal wire, and broke the cloned wire three times trying to get that tree up in the air."

Danzo stared at the boy a moment, then allowed himself to grin, "Naruto you know the shinobi rules of conduct?"

"Yes?"

"There are other unwritten rules that you learn as you grow older. One of these is, 'Whatever happens, its all according to the plan.'"

A big grin broke out across Naruto's face. "Yes, Sensei!"

"Now do you know why the third layer of your trap was so effective?"

"Umm, it was unexpected?"

Danzo put on a contemplative face and said, "Well it certainly was surprising, but that's not why it was really effective." Naruto looked really confused again, so Danzo decided to teach a bit of history. "About fifteen years ago Kohona was the home of three incredibly powerful ninja called the sannin. These ninja were Tsunade, Jiraiya and Orochimaru. Each was famous for amoung other things being the holder of a summoning contract. Tsunade had the slugs, Jiraiya had the frogs and Orochimaru had the snake contract. After the last great war the sannin were heralded as heroes of the leaf and where given the freedom to do what they choose. The three went their own ways, and we to our great regret realized our trust in Orochimaru was misplaced." Danzo smiled at Naruto's entranced expression and continued, "You see Orochimaru abused the trust placed in him and conducted a series of terrible experiments on people he had kidnapped from around the leaf village. The third and fourth discovered this and drove him from the village, but were unable to kill him." Danzo resolved to keep his opinion about Sarutobi being a fool who let his feelings cloud his judgment out of the little history lesson and finished. "So Orochimaru is still out their today, an S-Class criminal performing vile experiments and waiting for his chance to gain revenge against Kohona."

Naruto took a few seconds to put everything together then said, "So it was effective because you thought that the tree was one of Orochimaru's summons?"

"Absolutely, for a few seconds I panicked when I saw it." Danzo almost laughed at the disbelief written all over Naruto's face. He tapped the three finger sized holes drilled into the forehead of the carved snake and said, "Here is your proof. Vacuum spear is a technique designed to kill by precisely destroying vital area's; it is not something I would use in a spar. The fact that I did is an indication of how startled I was and a lesson on the importance of maintaining calm in combat." Danzo decided not to mention he had been a fraction of a second from bisecting the boy when he had caught himself, things like that resulted in talks with every ninja's natural enemy, therapists.

Danzo checked the time and decided to use the remainder of the afternoon to help the boy with his taijutsu, and left him with several exercises to help improve it. He idly considered giving Naruto a scroll on tree walking but decided to wait until the next personal lesson so he had time to make a few annotations that would be helpful for someone with high chakra capacity.

He found Sasuke practicing taijutsu forms and spent a few moments observing the various flaws in his stance before dismissing him for the day. They would work on those during his personal lesson after he finished his skill evaluations. Danzo wondered where exactly his third genin was when an ANBU in a cat mask appeared nearby. He had a sudden sinking feeling he knew exactly where his third student was, that was confirmed moments later when the ANBU said, "Danzo-sama, Hokage-sama requests your presence."

The ANBU vanished in a body flicker. Danzo spent a moment grumbling about pink haired brats crying to mommy before body flickering to the Hokage tower.

DTDTDTDTDTDT

The secretary just waved him into Sarutobi's office when he arrived. The door was closed behind him, obviously not a good sign. Sarutobi was at his desk, which was mysteriously clear of paperwork, another bad sign. The third hokage gave Danzo a very ugly look, then started, "Jounin Shimura Danzo on your first day of training you managed to send one of your genin to the the hospital with three bruised ribs. Would you care to explain yourself?"

'Who goes to the hospital for bruises? Oh well, time for token protests,' Danzo's mind immediately supplied and he started, "I did not hit her hard enough for a genin to incur such injuries. She should have at most had a big welt."

"And what made you think giving a genin a 'big welt' was a good idea." Danzo quashed the desire to laugh at how irritated his old rival was and idly wondered if he would have to use Shisui's eye to avoid an inconvenient punishment.

Danzo waited just the right amount of time for Sarutobi to reel in his anger and said, "Lets look at what I have gained today along with striking the fangirl. I have orchestrated events to give Naruto the impression that I am a hard but fair instructor. I have given Sakura a dose of reality and laid down some ground rules she will now follow out of fear, and I when I hit his fangirl I impressed the Uchiha just enough that he would not complain and try to get a new instructor."

"So these reports I have received about you striking a student then teaching another while ignoring the other two students has no merit."

"No it is substantially accurate."

Danzo kept from grinning at how irritated Sarutobi looked. The hokage reigned in his temper again and said, "Do explain."

"I laid down a few rules today, then trained Naruto. I will train Sakura tomorrow provided she shows up, then I will train Sasuke on Wednesday. Group training is on Thursday and missions are Friday. Saturday will be used at my discretion and Sunday is free. That was among the rules I laid down, I take it that didn't make the report?"

Sarutobi looked more irritated that ever when he deadpanned, "No, it was not." Sarutobi obviously came to a decision the asked, "How was training Naruto?"

"He has terrible taijutsu skills, lackluster chakra control and enough power to level a mountain. Of course it was amusing, I think I finally understand the joys of teaching. I evaluated his trap construction skills as well."

"And?"

"In ten minutes he managed to convince me Orochimaru had decided to come visit. The scorecard doesn't go high enough to give him a rating. Is there any way I can get the kid to look over the traps for ROOT headquarters?"

Sarutobi looked dumbfounded, and Danzo resolved to give all surprising news about his team in person if at all possible. Sarutobi recovered and then took a deep draw on his pipe before pronouncing, "Very well, for the deliberate injury of one of your students you sacrifice a weeks pay. See that it doesn't happen again Jounin Shimura Danzo. And you can have Naruto look over root headquarters defenses provided he doesn't realize what exactly he is doing."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama I will treat it as a theoretical exercise."

DTDTDTDTDT

To Danzo's great surprise his three genin were quietly talking underneath the shade tree. He channeled a bit of chakra and mumbled, "Release." His students were still there, talking quietly. Danzo shrugged, he hadn't known they could do anything quietly.

Danzo listened as Naruto regaled them with a grossly exaggerated description of the previous day's test. He was obviously excited to have other people pay attention to him. Danzo filled that tidbit away and decided to interrupt before Naruto spilled everything.

Danzo body flickered in front of his students and barked off a quick, "Good Morning!"

Sakura and Naruto chorused, "Good Morning Sensei!" Though Sakura looked a bit nervous. The Uchiha grunted a greeting and Sakura had stars in her eyes. Naruto moped at the display and Danzo ruthlessly quashed the urge to beat the stupid out of them.

He allowed himself a small sigh and started the daily announcements, "Naruto you will focus on the exercises given to you yesterday, also make a few clones and have them practice leaf balancing. Sasuke stick with taijutsu and chakra building exercises today; you can indulge your pyromaniac tendencies at a later date. Sakura you're with me." Danzo stalked off the bridge with Sakura in tow.

The snaked headed log that Naruto built was still hanging at one edge of the clearing. Sakura kept darting curious glances at it. Clearly Naruto hadn't reached that part of the story when Danzo had interrupted. He gave her another moment to look about before starting, "We will begin with a taijutsu spar." She looked very uneasy so Danzo added, "I won't injure your chest further."

"Yes, sensei," Sakura replied before falling into an academy stance. Danzo sat his cane down and reached his arm out to match her. She attacked at once, a quick jab and a thrown elbow as she shifted stances. Danzo struck low disruption the shift, leaving Sakura stumbling. He broke off and allowed her to gain her balance. She attacked again in the same pattern; this time Danzo blocked the job and hooked his arm through her elbow. A brief twist later and Sakura was sent crashing to the ground.

"Predictability is a tactical sin!" Danzo barked as Sakura pulled herself upright. She fell into another stance and came at him again. A mistake later and Sakura became reacquainted with the ground. Danzo continued the spar sending Sakura flying every time she made a weak transition or fell into a pattern. Eager to avoid a third trip to the ground, Sakura rapidly demonstrated her knowledge of the four fundamental academy stances and the eight standard opening combinations. Danzo continued to smash her weak transitions. By the time Danzo was satisfied Sakura was breathing hard and covering in a layer of grimy sweat.

Danzo gestured to sit and lectured in a disappointed tone, "You have an adequate intellectual understanding of the forms. Unfortunately that is the only positive thing I can say. Your taijutsu lacks polish and its obvious you have done the bare minimum of physical conditioning required by the academy. Your strength and stamina are a bad joke." Danzo stopped when he saw the tears forming in the girl's eyes.

'Damn, so much for relying on her desire to be the teacher's pet to force her to improve.' Danzo paused and considered. 'Obviously I will have to be more subtle with her than I was with Naruto. Or use Shisui's eye.' He put on his kind old man face and changed the subject, "Sakura, why do you want to be a ninja?"

She blinked away the tears and said, "Sasuke and...Someone else...I want to stay close to them."

'Someone else?' Danzo mused before focusing. He couldn't accept that answer, but he couldn't just ream her either. Then he remembered an old interrogation technique from the second war and had to fight to keep the smile off his face. He could ream her after all.

"Sakura, I'm going to be blunt. If you cannot find a better reason leave the ranks and don't come back. The moment you put on that headband you gave away your childhood; your foolish little crush will get your teamates killed. You have till after lunch to choose a better reason." Danzo watched the first sobs break out then body flickered away to dismiss Naruto and Sasuke, leaving a crying girl on the forest floor.

A few moments later and he was in ROOT headquarters. He returned Fu's salute and made his way to his office. He spent a few moments making sure nothing urgent required his attention before asking Fu, "Please find Mai, I have a job for her. Also I need those trap diagrams."

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura laid on the short stubby grass of the clearing floor and looked up at the forest canopy. Unpleasant thoughts came unbidden 'What is everyone going to think? Ninja for a day! What a bad joke; Mom and Dad will have to take out a loan to help me through normal school. I'll be behind all the students my age since I wasted four years becoming a ninja.' A sudden amusing thought broke her mental tirade, 'At least I'll pass PE.' She barked off an uneasy laugh, 'Sakura Haruno PE expert.' The amusement abruptly left her and she wondered, 'What am I going to do?' She didn't want anyone to see her; she was filthy and the tears had washed small lines on her face. 'Sasuke-kun would be disgusted, and Ino would...' She didn't know how Ino would react; all she knew was she didn't want anyone to see her. So she stayed in clearing and cursed herself, 'After all a terrible person like me deserves to be hungry right?'.

Melodic laughter cut through the woods. Sakura hated it. Brittle, insane thoughts crossed her mind, 'They are already lining up to laugh. That's it I'll join the circus, that way everyone can a least get a laugh. Everyone laugh at Sakura the failure!' She suddenly shouted, "Don't Laugh!" at the top of her lungs, and fought back another wave of sobs.

A girl in her late teens with a bob of orange hair carrying a big wicker basket appeared at the edge of the clearing and said in an apologetic tone, "Oh, I'm sorry did I disturb something?"

Sakura's rational side took back control and she abruptly jumped to her feet. She bowed her head and quickly apologized, "No Ma'am, I'm sorry for disturbing you with my outburst." Sakura silently chanted, 'Please go away. Please go away...'

"Don't worry I think shouting is good for the soul." The redhead gave her a big smile and Sakura wanted to hide. Before Sakura could come up with an excuse to escape the redhead continued, "I was supposed to meet my team out here for lunch, but they got sidetracked and now I have way to much food. Would you like to eat with me?" Sakura's stomach gave her away. The girl gave her another reassuring smile, and sat her basket down. "But first you need to wash, **Secret Camping Technique: Hot Spring Creation**." The ground nearby receded and steaming water rushed rushed into fill the gap.

Sakura blurted out, "Your a ninja!"

The girl chuckled and answered, "Well the training grounds are off limits to civilians, and I was looking for my team."

Sakura blushed. "Oh, right."

"No matter. I am a special Jounin and you can call me Mai. Now are you going to wash before the spring gets cold?"

Sakura reached into the spring and started vigorously scrubbing her hands. She splashed some water on her face and got most of the grim off. Mai handed her a napkin to dry herself with before sitting down besides the newly formed spring. She made a few hand-signs and the spring drained before the earth returned to its original position. She shrugged to Sakura, "You can't leave such an obvious trail in the field."

Mai laid out a truly massive amount of food from her basket and started to pick at the pickled vegetables. Sakura picked up a rice ball and started to nibble on it while she watched Mai. Mai noticed her and said, "Oh come on you have to eat more than that or this will go to waste."

Sakura felt her checks go pink. She stammered, "Sorry, I'm on a diet." The blush got a little deeper when she suddenly wondered, 'Blushing and now stammering. Who am I, Hinata?'

Mai burst out laughing and Sakura felt even worse. Mai finally recovered and said, "You must be a genin. Ninja don't diet dear. Eat as much as you can then train to keep a good figure." Mai struck a pose and continued, "You don't think I got this great body by dieting did you?" Sakura wasn't sure if she was embarrassed by the older girl showing off her chest or by the teasing. She solved the problem by grabbing more food before Mai tried to 'convince' her.

The two of them made great progress, but there was no way they could finish the spread laid out before them. Mai soon gave up and announced, "I'm full."

Sakura threw in the towel when she saw Mai quit and said, "Thank you for the meal Mai-san."

"So how do you like being a ninja?"

Sakura looked down and mumbled, then she looked back up like she was struck by inspiration and asked, "Hey Mai-san why did you become a ninja?"

Mai took a breath. "Well that is a bit of a personal question."

"Sorry."

"No its okay. But remember some people won't want to talk about their reasons." Mai looked up at the trees a moment then started, "At the orphanage I was always a bit of an outcast because of this hair." Mai started absently fiddling with her bangs and continued. "Every week the orphanage would have a visit day, where potential parents would come talk to us. On one visit day two of the older boys locked me in a broom closet before running to greet the adults like everyone else." Mai chuckled, "I remember being so mad; that day I found apart of me that I didn't know existed before. I did ... something and the closet went up in flames. When I was sure I was going to die an old man that was visiting saved me from the fire. He offered to adopt me soon after."

"He sounds like a kind person."

Mai shook her head. "He wasn't always kind, and his training was brutal. But he had... He had this dream that shown through the cracks of his mean exterior. His dearest wish was to protect this village and he would do everything to achieve it. That man is the only parent I will ever know and he has given me everything I have today, my deepest desire and dream is to repay even a fraction of that debt. That's why I will pay with my everything to fulfill his dream. That is my ninja way."

A sharp beeping noise cut through the small silence. Mai looked at her wrist and sighed. "Well there goes my lunch break." She packed up the remains of their meal into the wicker basket. She stood and complained, "Back to the grind."

Sakura called out before she could leave, "Thanks, Mai-san!"

"No problem." When Mai was out of sight she body-flickered to Root headquarters. Danzo met her at the entrance. She immediately saluted, "Commander."

Danzo returned her salute then barked. "At ease." Danzo waited for her to relax before continuing. "Please report."

"I have helped inspire the target to choose protecting Kohona as her ideal."

"Good, I would like you to periodically meet with her to provide reinforcement. Also your squad would like to know where their delicious home cooked meal went. That is all."

Mai's face didn't betray anything when she acknowledge, "Yes, Captain." Danzo allowed himself a smile before he vanished to training ground 7 in a body-flicker.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura was waiting in the clearing when Danzo arrived. They locked eyes and Danzo boomed, "Have you come to a decision?"

Sakura didn't flinch, "Yes."

"What will you do?"

"I will be a ninja who protects Kohona."

"And what will you do to achieve this ambition?"

"Train and become strong."

A rare genuine smile crept over Danzo's face. Soon a matching smile appeared on Sakura's. "I will do everything in my power to see you achieve the promises you made today Sakura Haruno."

"Yes, Sensei."

"I read through your academy evaluation while eating lunch today, it described you as unusually proficient at genjutsu. Is that correct?"

"The only genjutsu I know is disguise, but I performed well during the genjutsu recognition lessons."

'Typical academy profile, hail someone who doesn't know a single worthwhile genjutsu as an up and coming genjutsu mistress.' Danzo thought darkly before deciding to hope the academy made a lucky guess and continue with the planned lesson. "Then this afternoon you will begin learning the genjutsu release technique. Most ninja can counter a genjutsu through two methods. The first is to wound yourself and focus on the pain to break the genjutsu." Sakura looked a bit uneasy so Danzo gave her a small smile before he continued. "This method is not preferred, would you care to guess why?"

"Because you hurt yourself?"

"Are you asking or telling?"

"Because you hurt yourself, Sensei."

Danzo nodded. "Yes, but do you know the less obvious reason?" Sakura paused a moment to think but didn't come up with anything, so Danzo answered his own question, "Wounding yourself to break a genjutsu works. Unfortunately everyone knows it works, thus most high level genjutsu have countermeasures against wounding yourself to break the illusion." Danzo waited for Sakura to nod before continuing the lesson. "The second method of breaking a genjutsu is to stop the flow of chakra within your body, and then suddenly spike your chakra to a high enough level to flush the opponents chakra from your system. Most experienced ninja can do this without seals, but today you may use a seal to aid you. I recommend the ram seal. Now try it."

Sakura formed the ram seal and felt the flow of her chakra network. She focused on it, forming a mental dam that held the chakra back. Sakura broke out into sweat as the chakra slowed and eventually stopped. With a final effort she broke the dam and felt a tremendous surge of chakra snap through her.

Danzo blinked in surprise and thought, 'Maybe the academy knows what they are doing after all. What a monster.' He recovered himself a moment later and acted as though her success on the first try was normal and barked, "For the remainder of the lesson I will place D-Class genjutsu on you and you will attempt to break them."

Danzo made a one handed seal and suddenly vanished. Sakura watched as a shower of leaves flew around her. They were so pretty she just wanted to reach out and touch one. A second later and the ground started to get blurry. Her surroundings twisted in a haze and Sakura couldn't find where her leaf had gone. She fell with a thump and absently wondered, 'How did I end up on the ground?' Then everything went black.

When she regained consciousness Danzo was standing where he was before with a blank expression on his face. Sakura abruptly realized she had totally failed to disrupt the genjutsu. She felt a little embarrassed, but met Danzo's gaze firmly and said, "Again."

Danzo made the seal and leaves rained in a shower about Sakura. She felt the strong urge to reach out and touch them, they were so pretty. She wanted to touch them, but dimly remembered she shouldn't. She wondered why someone would care if she touched the leaves, but didn't want to be in trouble for touching them. Sakura wiped the sweat off her face and wondered why she felt so funny. Her last conscious thought was, 'Why does the ground look so funny?'

Sakura's first emotion upon regaining consciousness was a deep and abiding hatred for Danzo and genjutsu in general. A few moments later she managed to reign the hatred back in and asked, "Again."

Sakura looked at the pretty leaves. She wondered why she was so angry when their were so many pretty leaves around. Maybe because she couldn't play in the pretty leaves? A sudden thought struck Sakura like a thunderbolt, 'genjutsu!' She formed the ram seal and totally suppressed the chakra within her. When her own chakra stood still she could feel some strange dark blue chakra inside her, whispering, "Play with the leaves and grow sleepy. They are so pretty. Look at how the dance in the wind. You want to play with the leaves. After playing with the leaves your so tired. You want to sleep. It's okay to sleep."

Sakura spiked her chakra as high as she could and screamed, "Release!"

Danzo was standing in front where he had started. A small smile spread across his face. "Congratulations." He gestured for her to rise.

"Ugh why am I so tired?" Sakura moaned as she stood upright. Danzo's small smile grew a bit wider but he didn't say anything. Sakura looked at him and asked, "So what now sensei?"

Danzo gestured at two scrolls on the ground near her and he said, "The first of those scrolls details an exercise regimin I would like you to begin on the days I am not training you. The second contains additional information and tips on the genjutsu release technique."

Sakura looked at the two scrolls and asked, "So I'm released for the day?"

Danzo's grin split his cheeks and Sakura could see a big row of pointy teeth within when he said, "Well there is one more thing. I'm not Danzo."

Danzo's face split apart and a shark jumped from his body at Sakura. She closed her eyes and formed the ram seal. She shouted, "Release," a moment before the shark would rip her apart. When she opened them again it was night. She was in the clearing and to her great relief neither Danzo nor the shark could be seen. The moonlight coming through the branches of the trees was enough for her to make out the scrolls were still on the ground in front of her. She wondered just how Danzo pulled that off and tucked the scrolls in her pouch before heading home.

It was very late when Sakura reached her house. Her mom was waiting in the living room with small frown and a clenched jaw. When she saw Sakura she stood immediately and exclaimed, "Sakura I was so worried when you didn't come home where have you been this whole time. That instructor didn't hit you again did he?"

Sakura tried to think of a way to explain but came up with nothing so she just smiled and answered, "No mom, I had a good day."

DTDTDTDTDT

Sasuke met the rest of team 7 beneath the big shade tree where they gathered every morning. To Sasuke's great surprise Naruto was already out in the field working through his taijutsu forms and Sakura was asleep beneath the tree. He wondered to which god he should give thanks to; he wouldn't have to enjoy the stupid girl's affections or the idiot's poorly thought out attempts to get her affection.

He sat underneath the tree and stoically waited for Danzo to finally retrieve him for his day of private training. Maybe he would finally learn something useful. Danzo entered the clearing with a body flicker moments after Sasuke sat down.

Naruto stopped his practice and shouted, "Good Morning Sensei!" before walking over to the tree. Sasuke wondered why he was so excited a moment before dismissing the question, the idiot was always excited. Sakura was still asleep when Danzo started poking her with his cane. She sleepily mumbled, "Oh Sasuke-kun don't be so rough." A moment later she realized what she had said and turned beet red before jumping up.

Danzo gave her a small smile and said, "It looks like someone was up late last night."

Sasuke wondered what was going on when he heard Sakura mumble, "And whose fault is that?" before responding, "Yes, sensei." She looked over at him and said, "Good morning Sasuke-kun," as though nothing had happened a moment later.

Danzo theatrically cleared his throat and began the morning instructions, "Naruto I have a couple scrolls describing hypothetical situations. Today I would like you to write out responses to them." Danzo looked at Naruto's frown and added, "They are all about trapping a location." Sasuke wondered what was going on with the idiot but dismissed it when Danzo continued. "Sakura I want you to read through the scrolls I gave you yesterday, then to focus on the exercises described in them. Sasuke you are training with me today."

Sasuke grunted in confirmation before following Danzo into the woods. A moment later they were in a big clearing. On one side was a big log painted and carved to look like a snake. Sasuke pondered asking about it before Danzo addressed him. "We will begin with a taijutsu spar so I can determine how accurate the academy results are."

Sasuke nodded. He had been expecting this since the idiot had rambled on about his private lesson. He would have to impress Danzo, so the man would teach him something worthwhile. He fell into the first form of the Uchiha style while Danzo snaked out his arm towards him. Sasuke slammed his leg towards Danzo in a surprise kick as soon as the man was settled. As soon was the man was occupied he planted a hand and snapped off the other leg in a high kick. Danzo took a step back to avoid the blow and Sasuke was able to regain his footing.

This time Sasuke opened with a sharp left jab before stepping inside the old man's guard. He switched flawlessly to the second Uchiha stance and attempted to use his close range to disrupt the man's footing with a linked kick combination. The old man attempted to step back again and Sasuke assaulted him with a four step combination the moment he began to move. The first jab was blocked. But that left his elbow unguarded. Sasuke felt a smile cross his face as he swiped his elbow across, then he was abruptly flying. A moment later Sasuke's face was digging a small ditch through the dirt.

He spit out a lump of dirt that had gotten into his mouth and looked up angrily at Danzo's emotionless face. Danzo waited for him to sit upright before saying, "Very good, unlike the other two you actually have some ability at taijutsu."

Sasuke snorted and thought, 'of course I'm better than the idoit and the useless fangirl.'

Danzo looked at him a moment then said, "That is enough, sit." He waited for Sasuke to sit before asking, "How do you plan to kill Itachi?"

Sasuke floundered; he hadn't expected someone to bluntly ask him. He finally blurted out, "I plan to get my sharingan."

Danzo looked at him a moment, waiting for him to continue. When Sasuke didn't he asked, "And...?"

"Use my sharingan to become strong and kill him."

Sasuke wondered what his sensei was thinking when suddenly Danzo broke out laughing. Sasuke gave the man a very dirty look and wondered how he could get a useful teacher. Danzo finally recovered enough to ask, "Do you think the sharingan comes with a magic 'kill Itachi' button?" Danzo wasn't phased by the indignant expression Sasuke was giving him and continued, "At your current rate of progression you will have a fifty percent chance of surviving a confrontation with Itachi if you live to reach twenty. Provided of course that you or he doesn't get wounded or succumb to an illness."

Danzo didn't flinch at Sasuke's hateful expression and kept on going. "Boy do you know what your greatest advantage over Itachi is?"

"My hate."

Danzo paused a moment at that mildly disturbing answer before he decided how to respond. A moment later he had to stifle a grin, he would use the boy's hate to lay the foundations for teamwork. He put on a small frown and barked, "What is the greatest advantage a ninja of the leaf has over any missing-nin?"

Sasuke's eyes glowed with realization. "The village."

"Yes, as a ninja of the leaf you have a massive infrastructure supporting you. Why would you confront Itachi alone? When you go bring an army with you. Those two teammates you dismiss as useless? They are the start of that army."

Sasuke gave Danzo a doubtful look and grunted. Danzo ignored him and continued the lesson by bending the truth a bit, "Do you think these teams were random? Both of them surpass you in at least one area. Naruto has more chakra than anyone in the annuls of the academy and that's not even touching on his terrifying trap laying skills. Sakura was capable of controlling her internal chakra flow within minutes of instruction. With proper guidance they will become monsters."

Danzo watched as the Uchiha mentally debated what he had been told. The old man decided to dangle a final bit of bait, "With your teammates beside you, your chances of victory over Itachi increases drastically. I suspect that team 7 will be able to engage Itachi with a seventy percent chance of victory in four years. Remember by yourself its a fifty percent chance of survival, not victory."

That obviously decided the Uchiha's internal debate, and Sasuke asked, "What do I need to do?"

Danzo broke out into a big smile. "You need to understand your teammates, respect them and make them your comrades. I guarantee that when I am done with you three no one else will be able to stand besides you as an equal besides them."

Sasuke nodded and gave Danzo the first genuine, "Yes, sensei." that he had heard since becoming the boy's teacher.

Danzo kept his face expressionless despite his successful manipulation and said, "Of course this doesn't mean you get to slack off during personal training." Danzo watched Sasuke nod and let a cruel smile form, it was time to avenge his bento. In a very kindly voice he said, "After lunch we will have an anything goes mock battle, so prepare for hell." Danzo body-flickered away before he could see the small shiver run down Sasuke's spine.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sasuke ate a quick utilitarian lunch before heading back to the practice field. He needed to prepare as much as possible in order to face a jounin in open combat. He spent nearly his entire ninja kit laying traps and then sat in the center of the clearing watching as his watch ticked down the rest of the hour lunch break.

Sasuke rose and prepared to defend himself at five seconds. At two seconds he looked nervously about, and asked himself, 'Where is Danzo-Sensei?' At one second the field exploded as two hundred buried paper bombs detonated simultaneously. Sasuke was thrown a dozen feet in the air as he dodged the larger chunks of debris.

Danzo emerged from the ruined clearing in time to watch Sasuke hit the ground hard. He idly hoped Sarutobi wasn't watching. He had missed Mai's home cooked dinner because of that last lecture. Sasuke regained his footing and Danzo barked out, "Ninja rule thirty one, your assumption of safety is always wrong."

Sasuke gave him a dirty look and sent a few kunai towards Danzo before charging. Danzo took great joy in abusing Earth techniques to dodge the boy's attacks before appearing behind Sasuke and rapping him on the head with his cane. After the fourth or fifth repetition the boy got tired of being used to knock the dust off Danzo's cane and started holding the range open while throwing fireballs at him. Danzo returned fire with balls of mud that went right through Sasuke's fireballs.

Danzo sighed when his watch went off. His happy time would have to end. He looked at a thoroughly filthy Sasuke, and he decided to go out with a bang and shouted, "**Kohonahagure Secret Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!**" He watched Sasuke fly and idly thought, 'I wonder if the stick came loose,' before he stifled a laugh. The boy might even beat Sarutobi for distance. When he saw Sasuke land he mumbled one of the fundamental truths of Kohona ninja, "All of the Second Hokage's techniques are useful, no exceptions." before walking over.

Sasuke rolled over and gave Danzo the look he had been practicing for his confrontation with Itachi, but sadly Danzo wasn't phased. Danzo dropped a pair of scrolls on Sasuke's prone form and said, "Inside the first scroll is the tree walking exercise. I expect you to master it and teach it to your teammates before they have their private lessons next week. The second scroll is a D-Rank technique, Fire Style:Smokescreen, learn it before your next private lesson."

Sasuke managed to moan, "Yes, Sensei," before Danzo body-flickered away.

Chapter 1 Notes:

On Mai – Yes this is a clone of Mai from Mai-Hime. No this is not a crossover. I didn't want to make an OC for a character that will appear once in a blue moon so I stole the character description.

On Mai acting relatively normal despite being in ROOT – I refuse to believe someone as competent at plotting as Danzo has an organization solely filled with socially stunted individuals. He would have people in root that can interact normally for missions that require it.

On Danzo – Why yes he does have Shisui's eye and the shargingarm. I have no idea when he actually got it in cannon but judging his and Orochimaru's personalities I think before the sound invasion is likely. Though in canon he might have received it early and not have it installed till much later.

On Danzo's illusion – The only cannon D-Rank I could find was that hell viewing thing. Since Danzo is firmly of the opinion that all of Team 7 is mentally unstable, he would not use that technique. Especially since he went through so much trouble to make Sakura take her career more seriously. The technique is basically a single person clone of that feather thing used to put the stadium asleep.

Next chapter is Team building and Team 7's first mission. It's also Kakashi's first appearance, but I have midterms next week so don't expect if for at least two weeks, probably three.

After that I will probably start the wave mission or an actual C-Rank mission depending on my mood.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Sasuke was worried; he had tried the tree walking exercise the night before. It...had not gone as expected. How was he going to teach his teammates if even he couldn't do it. When Sasuke reached training ground seven Sakura and Naruto were all ready training. He spent a moment wondering. 'Since when has Sakura started training seriously. Probably another attempt to seduce me.' He shivered and sat down.

Sakura saw him and blurted out, "Morning Sasuke-kun."

Naruto gave him a far less enthusiastic, "Morning." Sasuke sighed and hopped up, intent on explaining the tree walking exercise when he saw Danzo body-flicker into the clearing our of the corner of his eye.

Naruto and Sakura stopped their exercises and fell into line besides Sasuke. Danzo looked at his genin and smiled like a shark, "Good Morning."

Sakura started shivering confusing her teammates, but they responded, "Good Morning, Danzo-sensei," in chorus.

"Naruto before we start can you make a few shadow clones?" The clearing abruptly filled with a dozen grinning blondes. Danzo nodded and produced a bundle of rope from his bag. "Sakura come here."

Team Seven and the clones gave Danzo a variety of horrified expressions. Sakura didn't move until Danzo barked, "Oh come on, I won't bite."

Sakura mumbled, "What about turn into a shark?" just loud enough enough for Sasuke to wonder what was going on before she moved to stand immediately in front of Danzo.

Danzo split the rope into two equal lengths then tossed them to Sakura, "Tie one rope to each ankle." As soon as Sakura started he asked, "Will the real Naruto come over here. Give Sakura about five feel of space then tie it to your ankles, and make sure the ropes don't get tangled. Sasuke, same thing, then tie off the extra rope."

Danzo waited for the genin to finish tying themselves together then said, "Now that your ready run five laps around the village perimeter. Use the track that follows the inside of the wall." Danzo watched them start running, it was a bit like watching a train wreck. First Naruto went a little bit too fast and the rope slacked between him and Sakura while Sasuke sped up before Naruto yanked hist fee out from under him. Then Naruto's foot caught on the slacked rope; his trip suddenly yanked the rope to Sakura taunt. She went down hard, face planting on the pavement. Naruto's out of control stumble lead him right into her. Finally Sasuke was running too fast to avoid the pile and went head over heals into them." Danzo hid his smirk as he watched them scream at each other.

"NARUTO!"

"Idiots."

"Oh come on Sakura-chan, it was broody's fault."

"There's no way Sasuke-kun did something so uncool!"

One of the clones turned to ask Danzo, "Boss is going to get it, isn't he?" Danzo suppressed a chuckle and kept watching.

After four more cringe-worthy tumbles team seven was out of sight and Danzo turned on the clones. "Alright I have infiltration practice for two of you."

Twelve blondes shouted, "Really?" in unison.

Danzo suppressed a wince at the noise level but admired the enthusiasm. He reworded what he was going to say so it sounded more exciting and continued, "Yes I want two of you to infiltrate an area under surveillance and gather information from monitored sources." Two scrolls suddenly appeared int his hand. "here are the details of your cover identities and the target sources. Who wants the assignment?"

One impromptu game of rock paper scissors later Danzo's two volunteers excitedly shouted, "Danzo-sensei where are we going to infiltrate? ANBU headquarters? The Hokage Tower?"

Danzo decided he might have played the practice up a bit too much and said, "Umm, those seem a bit high level."

"We can do it, Boss is going to be the greatest hokage ever after all!"

"Well future hokage-sama read your scrolls to find out."

The pair ripped open their scrolls and suddenly lost their smiles before complaining, "The library!" in unison. They grumbled a few moments but didn't protest. Danzo gave them a cold look until they started diligently studying the scrolls, and then turned to the remaining scrolls.

Danzo turned too the remaining clones and instructed, "Now I want three of you to practice throwing kunai and shuriken. Three more of you practice the academy taijutsu forms. The rest practice leaf balancing. Remember the goal is better control, not the ability to to hold a leave on your forehead." The clones gave him a confused look that abruptly disappeared when he barked, "Get to it!" Danzo helped the infiltration pair with their disguises then spent the next two hours dispensing advice to the ten remaining clones.

DTDTDTDTDT

Team seven finally made it to the village gate before taking another huge spill to the guards amusement. When they untangled themselves Naruto screamed in frustration and sat down. Sakura promptly tore into him, "Naruto, get up! You can slack off on your own time. Don't drag me and Sasuke-kun into it."

To Sasuke's great surprise Naruto put his hand on his chin and ignored Sakura. He was about to add his own complaints when Naruto snapped his fingers and shouted, "There's a trick, we have got to be missing the trick to this."

Sakura huffed and said, "Yeah, teamwork. That's why its called a teamwork exercise idiot."

She looked and Sasuke only to see his eyes narrow then widen in realization. "Idiot has a point."

"Hey!"

Sakura ignored Naruto's rant about how he would be the greatest hokage ever and asked, "But what?" She unconsciously mimicked Naruto's thinking pose and analyzed the problem. 'Alright, we keep getting tangled because we're all moving at different speeds. So we should all move at the same time. No, we all have different stride lengths, have to fix that too...' Sakura finally exclaimed, "That's it!" Naruto and Sasuke abruptly stopped arguing and gave her a funny look. She explained, "We need to do two things. Move at the same speed and the same time. So wee need to all step the exact same difference at the same time."

"Wow Sakura-chan your awesome!"

Sakura ignored Naruto and watched Sasuke. She slumped when he suddenly said, "Counting."

Naruto looked over and asked Sasuke, "Huh?"

Sasuke suppressed a sigh and explained, "We count to ten and take a step on each number. Make your steps exactly a meter."

"Wow Sasuke-kun you're awesome!" Sasuke ignored Sakura's complement and stood up. A moment later they were slowly jogging as Naruto and Sasuke shouted off numbers.

All three members of team seven suddenly stopped when they heard someone shout, "What are you idiots doing?"

Naruto was the first to respond, "Kiba what the hell!"

"Whatever it is, it looks stupid." Kiba continued.

"Umm, training is important Kiba." Hinata stuttered.

"Well we got our first mission today!" Kiba bragged.

"Wow what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"Umm-"

"We're catching a cat." Shino answered.

Naruto fell down laughing and Sasuke smirked, "That seems appropriate for a dog."

"Why you-"

"That's enough Kiba"

"But Kurenai-sensei..."

Naruto's face twisted into a foxy smirk as the opportunity to prank Danzo presented itself. He hoped his information was accurate and said, "Oh you're Kurenai-san?"

"You know of me?"

Naruto nodded, "Danzo-sensei says you are the second best genjutsu user in Kohona."

Kurenai's face tightened into a small frown before she finally admitted, "Hokage-sama is very good at genjutsu."

"Oh, then I guess you are third best then."

Naruto's prankster spirit held firm against the copious amount of killing intent Kurenai was giving off. When she asked, "Oh?" in a kindly voice that fooled absolutely no one, his smile got even wider.

"Danzo-sensei says the best genjutsu master in Kohona is someone called Might Guy."

"Kiba we have a mission." Kurenai yanked her student along behind as she stalked down the street.

Team seven watched them leave; until finally Sasuke asked, "What was that about?" Naruto just kept smirking until Sasuke said, "Right...lets get back to our jog."

DTDTDTDTDT

Kensuke Aida and Shinji Ikari had a secret they couldn't tell anyone else. They were shadow clones of Naruto Uzumaki. They took a deep breath and entered the Kohona public library. . The librarian at the desk coughed angrily when they walked by. Both clones froze and wondered, 'Does she know?'

"I need to see your ID's."

Shinji bowed his head and stuttered, "Sorry, ma'am." While he fished through his pockets. He finally found the fake ID he had made using the picture Danzo-sensei had provided and his copy of Naruto's ninja ID card. He desperately hoped she wouldn't look at the card closely and presented it to her. Kensuke flashed his a moment later. She didn't even blink. She waved them ahead and went back to her book.

Shinji blurted out, "Thank you ma'am, before rushing after Kensuke."

"Sucking up to the librarian, Ikari?"

"Sorry."

"Did your scroll say respond to every question with 'sorry'?"

A big grin spread across Shinji's face. "Yup."

"You're taking this way to seriously."

"We should, its important training for the boss."

"See that's what I mean."

Shinji gave Kensuke a dirty look and accused, "You are just mad I'm batter at this than you."

"You got an easier profile. Mine said giggle manically at the sight of ninja weaponry. Who would actually do that that on an infiltration mission."

"I don't know, all ninja are predisposed towards ignoring fangirls and fanboys. Just look at the broody one. He's so good at ignoring fangirls that one time I disguised myself as Naruko to prank him he didn't even notice me when I walked into his apartment."

"Is that what it is? I just thought he played for the other team."

"That's the other possibility."

Kensuke didn't really want to contemplate the broody ones sexual orientation so quickly changed the subject. "So what book are you supposed to read?"

"Great Clans of Kohona and their Abilities." Shinji muttered.

"Ouch sounds boring. I got History of the First Great War: A tactical Perspective." Kensuke theatrically sighed, "I'm off." before vanishing into the stacks.

Shinji shrugged and walked to the history section. The book was a huge leather-bound affair with small print and stuffy wording. Shinji sighed again and pulled out a blank scroll and a brush. He would write himself notes on each clan's abilities then memorize the notes before he dispelled.

He was almost done when a purple haired kunoichi walked into the library. He looked up, then immediately wished he hadn't. The women was wearing the most provocative outfit he had ever seen. When she noticed his blush she cupped her breast and said, "Like what your see, brat?"

Shinji stammered, "Sorry."

She looked at him like a delicious snack and asked, "What do you have to be sorry about?"

Shinji tried a different tactic, "Who are you?"

"I'm Kohona's sexy snake mistress, the great and wonderful and beautiful Anko!" When she started grandstanding Shinji knew he was screwed. She leaned over Shinji's shoulder and whispered into his ear, "I don't bite...much."

"Anko! Bad!" Another kunoichi shouted from the aisle.

"I'm not one of your dog's Hana."

"I know the brothers aren't nearly as rude."

Anko smashed Shinji's head into her cleavage and protested, "He doesn't mind, look!" Shinji went bright red and started stuttering incomprehensibly.

"Did you forget your promise with Nai-chan?"

"...No"

"So your giving up Dango?"

Anko looked horrified as Hana walked away. She gave Shinji a final squeeze then chased after Hana shouting, "Wait up free Dango!"

Shinji smirked, "Best infiltration mission ever."

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo heard his team before he saw them round the bend. They were shouting off a count to move by. He gave them a blank look as they came to a stop in front of him. The remaining clones of Naruto were clearly wondering what team seven was doing. He waited a moment more then said, "That was a clever solution. Tell me who came up with it?"

Sakura answered first, "Sasuke-kun did!"

"He only came up with it cause I recognized the problem."

"Naruto you didn't help at all, stop trying to take credit for Sasuke-kun's hard work!"

Danzo suppressed a sigh, they had obviously missed the teamwork part of the teamwork exercise. He decided to make a point. "Quiet!" The three bickering genin fell silent immediately. "When you report something there is no room for personal glory. You report the facts as they are and let the person you report to draw their own conclusions. If you gave such a shameful report to hokage-sama, he would send you to Ibiki to get the truth. Now tell me exactly what occurred."

Sakura spoke up first, "After falling several times, Naruto stopped running. He told us their must be a trick to the exercise. I realized we have to move at the same speed and time; Sasuke-kun figured out the method for us to do so. That is why I gave Sasuke the credit."

"If I want your opinions I will ask for them. Let me reiterate, in a mission report you give the facts." Danzo watched without expression as Sakura flinched. "You three solved the exercise with a clever trick. That is something admirable, you are ninja after all, but you seem to have completely missed the fact it was a teamwork exercise. When you turn on each other and try to hog glory you are failing your teammates. Ninja who fail their teammates die. Do you want to die?"

"No, Danzo-sensei!" Team seven respond in unison. Danzo forced a small smile onto his face.

"Now untie yourselves and sit down. We are going to discuss what it means to be a team and the roles you will fulfill in this team." Danzo waited for team seven to sit before he eased himself onto the ground. "Naruto! Why did the first hokage decide to deploy ninja's in three man teams?"

"Before the first great war larger formations were common. But during the early battles he realized that large formations lacked mobility and were extremely vulnerable to wide area jutsu and large scale summons. The tipping point was when Madara Uchiha lead two members of his clan to slaughter three platoons of stone ninja in their own camp using the wide area fire earth air combination technique garden of blooming hellfire, crushing stone's opening offensive before it got started. He chose the three man squad since it was the smallest unit which allowed for all three major specializations." Danzo suppressed a small chuckle as he watched Sakura gape at Naruto.

She finally recovered enough to ask, "Danzo-sensei I thought the second hokage lead us during the first great war."

Danzo pushed away the memories of his sensei and responded, "He did. Madara and the first had their famous fight at the valley of the end less than six months after the war started, before it had reached its true ferocity. But we are getting off topic. What are the three major specializations?"

Sakura answered, "Support, Melee and Ranged."

"Very good, now what role do each of you think you fulfill in this team."

Sasuke frowned then pointed at Naruto and said, "Melee." He turned to Sakura and said, "Support. That leaves me at ranged."

For a moment Danzo was surprised the boy had reached the same conclusion as him, but pushed it aside and asked. "What is your reasoning?"

Sasuke looked irritated at having to explain but did anyway. "Naruto doesn't know any ranged jutsu and is terrible with thrown weapons. He lacks the knowledge that characterizes the support role. Therefore he can only be placed at melee. Sakura isn't much better with ranged weaponry, but she's smart and is even worse than Naruto at taijutsu so she should be the support. That leaves me at ranged."

Naruto looked ready to protest and Sakura looked stunned that her crush though she was smart. Danzo decided to intervene before the team devolved into bickering again. "I agree, though you have overlooked the reasons Naruto is superior to you in the melee role." Sasuke suddenly looked like he swallowed a lemon. Danzo gave him a small frown before continuing, "Naruto has the greatest stamina of you three and shadow clone gives him greater staying power than you Sasuke. Though his taijutsu is terrible." Danzo forced his copy of the third's smile onto his face and asked, "Now do you three agree with these roles?"

"Danzo-sensei what specialization was old man hokage?"

Danzo suppressed a chuckle before answering, "Hokage-sama was a close ranged specialist that used a staff in combat. But most higher level ninja can fulfill any role."

Naruto frowned a moment then suddenly shouted, "I'll do it and become the greatest close ranged specialist, then the greatest hokage ever!" Danzo resisted the urge to beat Naruto with his walking stick while Sakura and Sasuke nodded that they were fine with those roles.

"Well then we have one piece of business left before I dismiss you for lunch." Danzo produced three scrolls from his jacket. "These are sealing scrolls, used to carry items. Inside these scrolls are four sets of the uniforms you will be required to wear when completing missions."

"Uniforms?" Sakura blurted out.

Danzo knew exactly what she was thinking and decided to go ahead and stomp on her hope before she got carried away. "They are unfortunately not stylish. They are however durable and actually provide protection. The only modification you can make to them is adding a clan crest to the shoulder." He ignored the dirty looks his genin were giving him and continued before they could think up any more protests, "Now before I forget I need to show you how to use the scrolls. These particular scrolls are called quick release type. To release the item stored in each section you have to channel a small amount of chakra into the circle." He demonstrated and a uniform appeared in a small poof of smoke. On top of the uniform were three kunai with seals engraved into them. He lifted one of the kunai and continued, "The quick release type is designed for people with very little sealing experience, thus these kunai. To seal an item you need to place the kunai in a triangle around the item then connect them with a line of blood channeling a bit of chakra." He drew sliced his finger and drew three quick lines to make a triangle of blood around the uniform and channeled a small bit of chakra sealing the uniform in another small poof of smoke. Danzo made sure each member of the team could release and reseal items before he dismissed them for lunch.

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto arrived back from lunch before his teammates, so he sat down besides the big shade tree and watched his clones work. They all gave him dirty looks as they continued their exercises. One of the clones balancing a leaf suddenly smiled and turned to another and said, "Boss should come show us how its done, right?"

A couple others caught on and said, "Yeah come on boss!"

Naruto was about to go show his clones how it was done when Sasuke interrupted him, "Hey stupid how do you know so much about the first great war?"

Naruto ignored the insult and answered, "Danzo-sensei made me read a book on the tactics of the first war. It was actually interesting unlike all that crap we had to read in the academy."

Sasuke nodded and then asked, "Hey stupid, you can read?"

Danzo body-flickered into the clearing before Naruto could demonstrate exactly what he thought of that comment. Sakura arrived a moment later, panting. Danzo waited for her to catch her breath then said, "This afternoon you will be practicing your roles in group combat versus an experienced jounin... whenever he shows up."

"When is he supposed to be here Danzo-sensei?"

Danzo smirked at Sakura and replied, "Around ten o'clock."

"Umm Danzo-sensei its one o'clock."

"I know, he should be here soon."

A minute later a white haired jounin body-flickered into the clearing. He waited a moment as though he expected them to complain before waving, "Hi!"

Danzo gestured to the jounin, "This is jounin Kakashi. You will call him captain when you serve underneath him. he will be accompanying you on most of your missions including the one you will accomplish tomorrow. Your goal for the afternoon is to not die, good luck."

Team seven stared at him like he was speaking a foreign language until the ground exploded underneath them. When the smoke cleared Danzo was pleased to see that the trio had vanished into the woods.

Sasuke was dragging Sakura through the woods as Naruto ran close behind. In a sudden burst of inspiration Naruto called out, **Shadow Clone** and six duplicates of Naruto appeared around him. A moment later his clones used the disguise technique and two copies of team seven rushed to other parts of the wood.

Sasuke halted a moment later and Naruto asked, "So what's the plan?"

Sakura still looked a bit stunned from the explosion but answered anyway, "Hide, the instructions were 'not die'."

"Well if were not going to fight, why don't we just disguise ourselves as civilians and go to the market or something."

Kakashi's voice called out from the branches above, "A fair plan, unfortunately its useless now that I know about it."

Sakura screamed, "Genjutsu!" a moment before a hand snaked out of the ground and grabbed Sasuke, dragging him under.

Kakashi emerged from the ground a moment later and mocked, "So what is plan B?" A trio of kunai from the bushes behind him answered his question. Kakashi flipped open his orange book with one hand and caught the kunai with the other hand. "A surprise attack from behind, not bad. It might have worked if your clones weren't so loud." The clones just screamed and charged Kakashi. They lasted moments before they were brutally cut down by the kunai Kakashi had appropriated. He flipped behind Naruto and Sakura right as they turned to run. "Oh were you going to abandon your comrade to his earthy fate?" Kakashi's face turned hard, "I hate people like that."

Kakashi charged the pair, intending to beat them within an inch of their lives when he heard someone shout, **Fire Style:Great Fireball** above him. He barely rolled out of the way in time to avoid immolation. Sakura, Naruto and the imprisoned Sasuke weren't so lucky and caught the brunt of the fireball, only to vanish in poofs of smoke. Kakashi had time to wonder, 'Shadow Clone?' before another trio of Naruto's jumped at him from the treetops. He met them half way, kicking two into trees, and using the third as a springboard to where team seven was hiding. He congratulated, "You guy's are better than you look. But now its over." Naruto and Sasuke charged him while Sakura threw another trio of kunai in between them. He caught their attacks and fell backwards to dodge the kunai. He channeled chakra into his feet and hung upside down from the branch a moment before throwing Naruto and Sasuke to the clearing below.

Kakashi's smirk vanished when the boy's exploded into clouds of smoke. The clone disguised as Sakura smirked, "Trickery is a ninja's best weapon." before it charged him. Kakashi put a kunai through its throat before it even got close and mentally congratulated them, 'So the trio that jumped me were the real ones using the disguise technique, clever.'

To Kakashi's great disappointment Danzo was waiting for him when he found the group again. As soon as he caught the blond one in the bright orange jumpsuit Danzo started clapping and shouted, "Good exercise!"

Danzo turned to Kakashi and said, "Thank you for your help Hatake-san. I intend to spend the rest of the afternoon going over the fight with them. Remember meet them outside the mission hall at eight o'clock tomorrow. Unless you want to stay?"

"No thank you." Kakashi body-flickered away and resolved to spend some quality time with his copy of Icha-Icha before making the brats wait extra long tomorrow morning.

Danzo took the battered members of team seven back to the main clearing and sat down. "Now tell me three things you did well and three things you can improve on."

Naruto answered first, "We need a better way to talk. Whispering during a fight is hard and if Kakashi had heard us it would have been useless."

Danzo nodded and replied, "I suggest you find a copy of the ANBU sign language and start practicing it. Its not perfect and most experienced ninja can read it, but it is a lot better than trying to whisper. You can buy one of those instruction booklets at ANBU headquarters."

Sasuke answered next, "We used clone and disguise techniques well, but we were a long way from matching … the captain in combat power."

"Using the clones like that was a clever trick. And Kakashi would be able to kill you all without trying fighting him head on was never the point of this exercise."

Sakura spoke next, "Well we realized that the point of the exercise was to escape him. And I realized that I can't contribute other than throwing kunai."

"Listening to instructions is important, congratulations for recognizing that. And don't worry about your contributions the support roll isn't covered very well in the academy. Over the next few weeks in your private lessons we will cover basic illusions, rudimentary medical techniques and supplementary seals." Danzo waited for the group to add anything before saying, "You need one more thing you did well." After a moment of awkward silence Danzo decided to give a sappy answer Sarutobi would enjoy, "You three performed as a team for the first time. That is something worthwhile."

Danzo gave his clone of Sarutobi's smile when the member's of team seven shouted, "Yes, Danzo-sensei!"

"Before I dismiss you, a few things about how this unit will handle missions. For each mission I am going to pick one of you three to be the team leader. Unless it is a life or death situation the team leader will be in charge of the squad. So I expect you all to obey orders given by Sakura tomorrow. Well that is all I plan to teach today. Meet your Captain outside of the mission hall at ten o'clock."

The members of team seven gave him several strange looks until Sakura finally asked, "Umm Danzo-sensei didn't you tell the Captain to meet us at eight o'clock?"

"Why yes I did." Danzo body-flickered away before they could protest.

Sasuke wondered how he was going to get the other members of team seven to learn tree climbing before deciding on a course of action he knew he would regret. "Hey there is something I want to teach you guys."

Naruto gave him an uninterested look and asked, "So?"

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun just wants to help us be better ninja."

Sasuke sighed and said, "Naruto if you learn this by your next private lesson I will buy you and Sakura ramen."

"REALLY?" Sasuke nodded and wondered just what horror he had unleashed when Naruto continued, "Then I'll master whatever your teaching in an instant. Believe it!"

DTDTDTDTDT

The uniform Danzo had given to Naruto lay in a pile on the floor where he had unsealed it. Naruto was staring at it with great trepidation, there was no orange. He wondered how much trouble he would be in if he just wore his patented jacket anyway only to be assaulted by a sudden image of Danzo's creepy smile. He shuddered and started putting the uniform on. The black shirt and pants were made of some rugged material Naruto didn't recognize, and the pants had far too many pockets on it. The green jacket was just as bad; it was stiff and really heavy and it looked like one of the chunin vests with sleeves and a hood tacked on. Naruto decided that at least the gauntlets were cool looking even if they were green.

Naruto spent another moment adjusting his forehead protector before running to the mission hall. He didn't want to be the last one there if Captain Kakashi decided to show up earlier than Danzo-sensei said he would. Naruto barely recognized Sakura without her red dress. He thought she looked older with the heavy green jacket hanging unbuttoned and her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Naruto shot her a big smile and shouted, "Wow Sakura-chan you look great!"

"Thanks Naruto, you look like a ...ninja."

"Thanks."

There was an awkward pause before she asked, "Have you seen Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto huffed, "No."

The sat together on the bench outside the mission hall waiting for Sasuke in silence. When Sakura saw him she stood and shouted, "You look great Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto muttered, "We all look the same," too quietly for her to hear.

Sasuke ignored Sakura and asked, "So where is our Captain?"

"He's not here yet."

"Good Danzo-sensei saved us a lot of trouble then."

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking Kakashi body-flickered into the street and asked in a smug voice, "Did you wait long?"

The members of team seven responded as one, "No, Captain!"

Sakura spent a moment wondering why the Captain looked so irritated before asking, "Umm Captain, should we go ahead and get a mission scroll?"

Kakashi's smile returned. "Yep, I have just the mission in mind." He headed into the mission hall and gestured for the team to follow him. The line wasn't very long, most of the genin teams had sown up earlier to avoid the more onerous missions. Team eight walked in just as they reached the mission desk. Kakashi had a big smile on his face when he told the lady at the desk, "Team seven would like to request the retrieve Tora mission."

The members of team seven felt a sudden feeling of dread that was abruptly dispelled when the lady replied, "Oh your Danzo-sama's team. He came by here earlier today to request a specific mission for you." Team seven wondered why Kakashi's smile looked so painful while she searched through the stack of scrolls marked 'D' on her desk and muttered, "Now where did I put it...Ah here it is! Rake the leaves at the Uchiha estate." She handed one scrolls to Kakashi with a big smile and another to Sakura before adding, "He said I was supposed to give this to you Haruno-san good luck on your first day as team leader!"

Before Sakura could thank the lady Kiba interrupted, "You guys must really suck if he made forehead your team leader!"

Kurenai smacked him in the back of the head and asked, "What are you doing here Kakashi?"

"Danzo has me watching his brats for the day."

"Just think, if you passed a team you could experience this joy every day."

"Ahh, all the inspiration I need to make my test even harder next year." Kakashi's smile returned before he added, "Maybe I'll make the next group bring me Anko's panties?"

Kurenai's face flushed and she pushed past Kakashi before demanding, "Team Eight reporting for a mission."

The lady working the desk grimly informed them, "The only remaining D-Class is retrieve Tora, I wish you luck."

Kiba's eyes widened in silent horror before he suddenly fell to his knees and shouted "NOOOOO!" His cries of frustration only got louder when he saw the members of team seven sporting three matching vindictive smiles. The smiles turned into outright laughter when Akamaru covered his eyes with his paws and tried to hide in Kiba's jacket. Hinata consoled Kiba as team seven left the mission hall in a hail of laughter.

"So what is in the second scroll Sakura-chan?"

"I'll read it when we get there Naruto."

"So we're cleaning broody's home? Some mission."

"Naruto don't insult-"

Sasuke interrupted, "I don't live there."

Sakura and Naruto fell quiet a moment before Naruto finally asked, "So where do you live and what is the Uchiha district."

Sasuke grunted and fell silent. Sakura finally answered, "Naruto didn't you pay attention in the academy? The Uchiha district is where the Uchiha clan lived before..." She fell awkwardly silent under Sasuke's glare.

Naruto was sadly oblivious. "Sakura I had the worst grades at the academy remember? So why don't you live there broody?"

After a pause Sasuke muttered, "Bad memories." Sakura wondered how to console Sasuke and Naruto wondered what his two teammates were worked up about.

So with his usual tack Naruto ignored Sasuke's glares and asked, "So what happened?"

Kakashi scolded, "Naruto that is -"

Sasuke interrupted, "Five years ago … a certain man... killed ever member of the Uchiha Clan except me so he could gauge his strength." Naruto and Sakura winced when Sasuke muttered, "I will kill him," into the awkward silence.

Sakura cheered, "We're here!" in a pitiful attempt to lighten the mood. The Uchiha district had suffered in the five years since it was abandoned despite the number of D-ranks the council funded to maintain it. The buildings were maintained well enough but the whole place felt hallow, like a effigy of past glories constructed for a fair.

Kakashi paused at the gate and said, "You need to rake the leaves into stacks; come get me before you start burning them. I will be waiting at the gate."

"What do you plan to do Captain?"

Kakashi pulled out a little orange book and smiled at them, "I will be reading."

The walked to the center of the district before Naruto asked, "So what is on the other scroll Sakura-chan?"

Sakura shook herself and pulled the scroll open. After a brief glance she read aloud, "If you have received the mission I requested you are in for a lot of hard boring work. I decided to include the instructions for the E-rank technique Wind Style : Gentle Breeze in an effort to make your task a bit more interesting. I suggest you spend the time to learn it properly, although the technique itself is useless in a fight it is one of the easiest breath techniques in Kohona's library. Learning it will make mastering techniques such as Sasuke-kun's great fireball or my own great breakthrough much easier. Good luck on your first mission." She passed the scroll to Sasuke and rapidly signed tiger, ox, rabbit and shouted **Wind Style: Gentle Breeze!** She exhaled a weak breeze that pushed the leaves in front of her a dozen feet before dying out.

"Wow Sakura-chan your great! Let me try." Naruto signed and shouted **Wind Style:** **Gentle Breeze!** He spat out a gust that sent Sasuke and Sakura flying into the side of a building.

Sakura shirked, "NARUTO YOU-" only to abruptly stop when she saw Naruto collapse and start coughing uncontrollably. She watched with bile fascination a moment before she asked, "Umm, Naruto are you alright?"

Sasuke wondered just how much chakra Naruto had used to overpower the technique by such a ridiculous extent before saying, "He overpowered the technique without using chakra to protect his throat." He saw the adoring look Sakura was giving him and decided to add, "I did the same thing the first time I tried the great fireball technique. I burnt my throat so badly I couldn't speak for a week."

Naruto shot Sasuke a dirty look and ran through the signs again, **Wind Style: Gentle Breeze!** Sasuke and Sakura barely had time to dodge out of the way before another massive gust rocked the street. He gave them a big thumbs up and shouted "I got the whole street!" in a rather hoarse voice.

Sakura had to suppress a giggle at how funny Naruto sounded before she gave him a placating wave and said, "Umm, good job, but try to not send us into any more buildings, okay Naruto?"

Sasuke brushed the dust off his jacket and stared at Naruto for a moment wondering, 'Just how much chakra does he have? I could probably create one gust that size and he doesn't even look winded after two. Maybe Danzo-sensei has a point about him being useful against Itachi.' Sasuke resolved to follow Danzo's advice and use his teammates to help kill Itachi. He let Naruto wheeze out another line about how he would be the greatest hokage ever before asking Sakura, "So what do you want us to do team leader-san?"

For a moment Sakura looked like an animal in a trap before shaking herself. She started thinking aloud, "Well Naruto can clear a whole street, but he just sends leaves everywhere, so we get him to push everything towards the central square. Sasuke you and I can try to work what's in the square into piles and... Naruto can you teach us how to make those solid clones? They would be really useful."

Naruto scratched his head and apologized, "Sorry Danzo-sensei says I can't teach anyone shadow clone, but I can make a couple for you to order around."

"That works too, will you be okay making the clones also? That has to be a lot of chakra."

Naruto tried to shout, "I'll be fine! Believe it!" but was so hoarse it out as an almost incomprehensible croak.

Sakura snickered for a moment before clapping her hands and announcing "Lets get to it!" Naruto made a hand seal she didn't recognize and shouted, **Shadow Clone**. A dozen grinning copies of the blonde appeared around them.

The real Naruto instructed them, "You all need to obey Sakura-chan while I'm gone. Don't screw this up!" before running down one of the streets. Moments later a cloud of leaves shot into the main square and a stiff wind assaulted them.

Sakura turned to the clones and said, "You all need to start cleaning out the corners where we can't use the wind technique."

The clones snapped off a salute and shouted "Yes, Sakura-chan!" in a chorus of hoarse voices. She turned to Sasuke and said, "Well Naruto might be annoying but at least he's useful at menial labor." She didn't see one of the clones freeze a moment before it continued working.

Sasuke frowned a moment in thought, 'If they keep fighting with each other then they will be less helpful when we kill Itachi. I need to make them get along if this is going to work...Even better If I can get Sakura to focus her affections on Naruto then she will stop bugging me about going on a date...But how?' A small smile crossed Sasuke's face and he decided to shamelessly play up the similarities between his childhood and Naruto's.

He sent a cloud of leaves flying with the wind technique to cover for his pause before starting, "Be nicer to Naruto, he's going to be our hokage after all."

Sakura scoffed, "You don't really believe that do you?"

"I respect his ambition. He is...very similar to me."

Sakura stared at Sasuke obviously entranced before asking, "What do you mean?"

Sasuke frowned at her and wondered how the smartest girl in their class could be so dense before he told her, "We're both orphans. He is probably the only person in our class that can understand me, so I will never doubt his ambition." Sakura looked like she wanted to protest that she understood his pain but had enough sense to keep her mouth shut under his glare. He kept the glare up and watched her wilt for a moment before lying through his teeth, "I would never date someone who was rude to him."

Sasuke left her gaping like a fish to start clearing the other side of the the main courtyard while congratulating himself on a successful opening move in his plot to hook up Sakura and Naruto. Naruto appeared from the last of the streets a moment later gasping for breath. He looked so exhausted no one protested when sat down against one of the buildings lining the central courtyard and waited for them to finish organizing the rest of the leaves.

A few minutes later they had the leaves organized into a couple piles and Sakura called out, "Naruto you can dismiss the clones now."

Sasuke walked over to where Naruto was sitting when all of the clones called out, "Okay." and vanished into clouds of smoke. Sasuke was extremely confused when Naruto looked at him with a big smile stretching across his face. Sasuke offered Naruto a hand up which Naruto took with an almost tearful, "Thank you!"

Sasuke pushed Naruto's somewhat creepy behavior from his thoughts and called out to Sakura, "What now team leader-san?"

Sakura fumbled a moment before saying, "Captain Kakashi said to come get him when we got the leaves into piles."

Team seven walked to the Uchiha district gate where Kakashi sat in the shade occasionally giggling while reading his orange book. When he saw them he called out, "Done already? I was just getting where Sophia-chan is about to get hammered by Rock-san when her sister decides to come onto the stage and -"

Sakura went beet red and and desperately interrupted before Kakashi could scar her forever, "We don't want to hear about your perverted book!"

"Then you don't want to here about how Sophia-chan is joined by the great kunoichi Taki after she saves Taki-chan from Kilik-san's long hard pole?"

Sakura's mouth worked back and forth but she couldn't think of anything to say so Naruto came to her rescue, "Captain that's really interesting but we need to finish our mission."

Kakashi muttered, "No respect for art," before asking, "What happened to your voice?"

Sasuke answered, "Overpowered wind technique." Kakashi quirked an eyebrow before he followed them into the central courtyard. "Alright I want you to ignite the piles with a fire technique." Sasuke rapidly made the signs for grand fireball only to stop when Kakashi shouted, "Not that one!" Kakashi rolled his eyes in irritation before signing Horse, Tiger, Ram **Camping Technique: Fire Ignition**. He spat a little line of fire that quickly set the leaves ablaze.

"Fire Ignition is one of the basic camping techniques you are expected to master. Now each of you ignite one of the remaining piles so we can finish."

Sasuke and Sakura looked nervously at each other before Sakura finally spoke up, "Umm, Naruto make sure that nothing flammable is in you path, like buildings or...me." Their caution was warranted a moment later when Naruto sent a twenty foot gout of flame down one of the streets.

Sakura and Sasuke spent a moment chuckling uneasily before igniting their piles. The dry leaves burned quickly leaving small piles of smoldering ash. Sakura watched her own pile of embers die out completely then turned to ask Kakashi, "Captain, should we sweep the piles up?"

"If you want. I'm going to go ahead and report this as a successful first mission. Danzo-sama told me that you three are to report to ANBU headquarters tomorrow at twelve o'clock."

Team seven walked Kakashi leave before Sakura finally asked, "I wonder why he wants us to go to ANBU headquarters?" The other two members of the squad shrugged and the three stood together silently until Sakura finally asked, "So what now?"

"Tree Climbing?"

"Tree Climbing."

"Tree Climbing...yay."

"Come on Sakura my precious ramen is at stake!"

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo sat on the bench waiting for his team outside of the ANBU headquarters building wondering if he should go forwards with his plans. The three members of team seven showed up together, they had obvious met earlier in the day. Danzo spent a moment wondering if it was because the Uchiha was teaching them tree climbing before rising from his seat. All three had decided to wear the uniform he had provided to the meeting. After a moment more observing them he abruptly decided his original plan didn't require modifications and called out, "Good morning."

They fell into line in front of him and responded as one, "Good morning, Danzo-sensei."

It was time to teach team seven about emotions. He started his lecture, "Today I have a pair of very important lessons you need to learn before you advance any further as a ninja." The three looked at him attentively.

Danzo knew every word he was about to say would be reported to the third hokage He couldn't say emotions were a hindering to a ninja without losing his position as team seven's sensei, so he planned around it. His students were not ROOT. He spent a moment mentally reciting the line he had based his life off of, 'You are the leaves basking in the sun, I am the roots that grow in the dark.' And committed himself, the only indulgence he would allow his opinions was subtly framing his example so not feeling any emotion came out superior to a superabundance of emotion. That was all he would do. He would use the eye to enforce the lesson itself, not his opinion, no matter how correct his opinion might be.

He spent a moment preparing himself for the first planned use of Shisui's eye on team seven and then began his speech, "The first hokage once said," Danzo paused to look at team seven and activated Shisui's mangekyo eye. "_To ninja emotions are a weapon_." Danzo winced as the eye shut down from the strain of implanting the sentence and continued, "Some interpret that statement as ninja should not feel emotion. Others insist the first meant our emotions make us stronger. In practice neither understanding is correct. A true master understands emotions but is not controlled by them."

"Imagine you are in a battle with another ninja and he taunts you...with being an orphan." To Danzo's surprise Sakura flinched, he spent a moment filing her reaction for later analysis before continuing, "A ninja not in control of his emotions becomes enraged and attacks his opponent with all his strength; he never notices the trap he's being lured into. When his opponent triggers the trap our emotional ninja dies a failure."

"Now lets examine the ninja who suppresses his emotion. His opponent taunts him about being an orphan and he ignores it. The fight continues without exposing the opponents trap."

"But the master ninja hears the taunt and wonders what his opponent is trying to gain. He realizes the trap his opponent is laying and play's along lulling his opponent into a false sense of security. The opponent never realizes what went wrong when the master suddenly turns his own traps against his."

"To become a master ninja you must first become a master of your own emotions. If an opponent thinks you are cowed in fear he will never expect the kunai in the back. This is one of the most important lessons I can teach, and it play's into today's other lesson. Please follow me inside."

Danzo mentally calculated how long it would take Shisui's eye to recover and resolved to make the remainder of the lesson last that long before smiling at the unmasked ANBU member sitting at the front desk like a secretary. "Danzo Shimura taking team seven to visit torture and interrogation's little show."

The fake secretary and Danzo spent a moment enjoying the nervous expressions flickering across team seven's face. He thought they did a fairly good job of controlling their emotions for a first try and turned back to the fake secretary. She smiled back at him and said, "Afternoon Danzo-sama, please sign in."

The members of team seven were quiet as they walked ANBU headquarters's gray maze-like halls for the first time. Danzo called out to them, "ANBU is the sword of the hokage and reports only to him. But since the loss of the Uchiha they have become more. The ANBU now serve as the police force of Kohona and handle the incarceration and punishment of criminals."

Danzo opened the door labeled torture and interrogation division and continued, "This includes executions."

Ibiki met them in the hallway and Danzo snapped off a salute, "Danzo Shimura bringing team seven to witness the execution of prisoner number one zero three six."

Ibiki returned Danzo's salute and gave the members of team seven a cold smile before replying, "You are just in time for the show Danzo-san, I was wondering if you had changed your mind."

Danzo was acutely aware that his reply to Ibiki's barb would be on the hokage's desk by that night, but he couldn't do anything but stay the course. So he calmly met Ibiki's eyes and replied, "I am resolved, this is the best course for team seven's development." Ibiki stared at him a moment and then nodded; Danzo ruthlessly suppressed a sigh of relief the inevitable report to the hokage would put him in the most favorable light possible.

"The viewing room is this way, remember you cannot interfere in the proceedings in anyway." Ibiki pushed open a door into a sparsely furnished room with gray walls and a big viewing window.

Sakura gasped in shock, "Mizuki-sensei?"

Naruto looked through the glass to see that the stay at torture and interrogation had not been good for the former instructor. His hands were bloody pulp that could never hold a weapon again and the jagged lines carved into his face weren't much better. He was crying piteously in pain and occasionally jerking against his shackles. Naruto turned to Sakura and wondered if she was going to be okay.

Sasuke found his voice first. "What did he do?"

Danzo gave Naruto a meaningful look and then returned his gaze to Mizuki. Naruto sighed and then replied, "He was a traitor."

Sakura managed to wrench her gaze away from Mizuki and look at Naruto. He winced; she looked like she was about to cry. He wanted to hold her hand and tell her it would be okay, but he knew Danzo would come down on him hard if he faltered in his explanation. "Did you guys wonder how I got this protector?"

Sakura stuttered, "You said special circumstances..." Then she gave him a sudden horrified look and snapped another glance at Mizuki.

"When I failed the academy graduation test Mizuki told me there was another way to become a genin. As a special test I had to infiltrate old man hokage's mansion and steal a special scroll and learn a single technique from it. The scroll of seals is a collection techniques that the hokage have made forbidden for various reasons, and old man hokage guards it himself. I was successful in … distracting the old man and stole the scroll before fleeing to the woods. I quickly started studying the scroll, eager to master a technique before Mizuki found me. Iruka-sensei found me a couple hours later, I thought I had passed the test. I was so proud when I told him I had learned the shadow clone." Danzo watched as Sasuke's eyes lit up at that bit of information, and he resolved to talk to the boy about exactly why shadow clone was dangerous.

Naruto and Sakura were to distraught to notice. "Iruka-sensei thought I was trying to prank the village in revenge for failing the graduation exam. When I told him that Mizuki had said I could graduate if I learned a skill from the scroll of seals he realized Mizuki was a traitor. Unfortunately Mizuki attacked us both moments later. Iruka-sensei...he took a couple kunai for me in the opening exchange."

Naruto took a deep breath and forced his voice to calm before he continued, "Then Iruka-sensei took another really bad hit because I was too slow in running. Iruka-sensei couldn't fight Mizuki cause I was there, so I ran as hard as I could. Both Iruka and Mizuki set off in pursuit moments later. Iruka transformed into a copy of me and fooled Mizuki. Once Mizuki discovered the ruse, he decided to taunt Iruka-sensei a bit about...me before he killed him. Iruka-sensei came to my defense." Naruto gave his teammates a sad smile and finished, "He said I was … one of his excellent students. He acknowledged me, he's probably the first person besides old man hokage who has really acknowledged me. Mizuki spit on all that. I turned around and faced him. I put all of my power into shadow clone and managed to defeat Mizuki. Iruka-sensei gave me his own forehead protector." Naruto tapped his forehead and continued, "This forehead protector. That is how I became a genin."

Sakura gave Naruto a confused and desperate look. She muttered to no one in particular, "He used to give me sweets when the other kids made fun of my forehead."

Sasuke got over their former instructor being a traitor fairly quickly. Mainly because he had something more important to worry about, like how this was going to affect his plans to get Naruto and Sakura to act like teammates. He sent an irritated glare to Danzo and pushed Sakura into Naruto.

She squeaked when she hit Naruto's chest. Sasuke spent a moment to appreciate the cute reaction before gesturing for Naruto to hug her. Luckily for Sasuke Naruto was too upset with his own remembrances to protest and wrapped his arms around her without complaint. Danzo watched the scene and wondered how his team dynamic had changed so much in the last day. Sasuke's actions made no sense to the old man, but they were headed in an interesting direction so Danzo let them play it out.

Sakura was still sobbing against Naruto's chest when Ibiki entered Mizuki's holding cell with a frog masked ANBU. Ibiki's deep voice boomed out, "Chunin instructor Mizuki." Sakura turn to face her former instructor; Naruto held her hand. Sasuke walked over and took her other hand before Ibiki could continue. "You stand accused of terrible crimes. To the crime of theft of a national treasure, the scroll of seals, you are judged. GUILTY! To the crime of assaulting a fellow leaf ninja, chunin instructor Iruka, you are judged. GUILTY! To the crime of revealing a S-Class secret to someone not party to the secret, academy student Uzumaki, you are judged. GUILTY!"

Naruto never noticed Sasuke's speculative glance. Ibiki took a deep breath and continued. "For your crimes the punishment is a traitors death." Ibiki turned to the ANBU that accompanied him and said, "Frog you may administer the punishment."

Frog nodded once to Ibiki and unsheathed his tanto. He moved in front of Mizuki and paused a moment to say something quietly before brutally ramming the blade into Mizuki's chest. Frog twisted the tanto and watched as his eye's glazed over before withdrawing the blade and wiping it on the remains of Mizuki's jacket. Frog nodded again and Ibiki boomed out, "Justice has been done." before they both left Mizuki hanging from his shackles.

Danzo looked at his students and said, "They will destroy the body so our enemies can learn nothing from his corpse." He paused to prepare himself then acted out the closing act of his little show, "The other lesson I wish to teach today is simple. As ninja our purpose is to kill. Whether executing a traitor or cutting down a foe in the field, everyone who calls themselves a ninja must be able to kill their foes without hesitation. When you put on those forehead protectors you swore a solemn oath. I am the sword of my nation, I will strike down our foes. I am the shield of our nation, I will defend its people. A ninja that cannot kill is not a sword or shield, they are a weight that will bring others down with them. When you take the life of a foe you are not a monster, you are a ninja fulfilling their solemn oath. Never forget that."

He marched in front of his three genin and demanded, "Now, swear that oath again in front of me with full knowledge of what in entails. Become ninja of the leaf in truth."

Three unsteady voices replied, "I am then-"

Danzo boomed, "Say it with conviction!"

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked at him with resolve and firmly said, "I am the sword of my nation, I will strike down our foes. I am the shield of our nation, I will defend its people."

"I accept your oaths." Danzo stared at them a moment and wondered again if this was the correct course before announcing, "Ninja must kill. That is why before I will let this team go on a mission that involves combat, you will each serve as an executioner for a traitor or criminal that the hokage has sentenced to death. You are dismissed, I suggest you discuss this with one another."

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo was still in the observation room when the ANBU reached him. He suppressed a grin; Sarutobi had received word too late. Shisui's eye had already recovered. He hoped that the upcoming discussion would not require him to use the eye; he suspected that if he had to use it against Sarutobi his chance of success was less than forty percent. If he gambled on those odds and failed the village would suffer.

He followed the ANBU into the hokage's office. Sarutobi was waiting for him behind a desk suspiciously clear of paperwork; when he saw Danzo enter he took a large drag on his pipe before dismissing the ANBU As soon as the silence seals were up he roared, "What in the hell do you think you were doing Shimura?"

"The same thing the second did for us."

Sarutobi visibly reigned himself in and reminded himself that Danzo was not someone he could intimidate with a bit of anger. "We were at war."

"A bandit's blade is just as lethal as a soldiers."

"They are just children."

Danzo let a little bit of his anger show and turned Sarutobi's own words against him, "Then strip them of their ranks, children have no place in a ninja force. The will of fire states every true Kohona shinobi must love, believe, cherish and fight for the village's sake."

For a moment Sarutobi looked like a very old man, then he gave Danzo a crooked smile and asked, "Do you still believe in that will we inherited from sensei?"

Danzo suppressed a smirk, he had dodged any punishment without having to gamble on the eye. His expression betrayed nothing to Sarutobi when he honestly replied, "I...I will pass the will down to those three and I will fight for my village."

-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-

Finally finished this! 

Very few comments this time around.

Yes, I know Danzo supports the whole emotionless ninja thing, but his defining characteristic is being a giant hypocrite so him having emotions isn't that much of a stretch. If you don't buy that then this is the otherwise noted part of 'like cannon unless otherwise noted.'

Sasuke shipping Sakura x Naruto makes me laugh but I have no intention of making this into any kind of romance in the foreseeable future. I hope I'm not mutilating anyone's character as I try to develop the members of team seven into (more) stable individuals.

Next chapter I plan to time-skip into the wave mission or give a brief montage of them improving as a team before going to the wave mission. It will be out in two to three weeks depending on whether I'm driving to the beach for spring break or riding with someone else.

I'm considering including a brief description of each non-canon jutsu I use in a chapter at the end. pm/review if you want to tell me to add a list or not.

THANKS FOR READING!


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The trials and tribulations of a dirty bridge builder.

Danzo sat in one of the hokage tower's larger meeting rooms struggling to understand Naruto's nigh incomprehensible hand writing while waiting on the other jounin with a rookie genin team. Naruto had submitted a rather interesting analysis of the limitations of the body-flicker and substitution techniques including the reasons they were of limited application in combat and how to overcome those limitations. Unfortunately it was all written in a chick-scrawl. Danzo was convinced that if they could train the rest of the leaf ninja to read Naruto's writing then they would gain a totally secure method of communication.

For frustrating minutes later the hokage entered the room and Danzo gladly closed the scroll before making a mental note to forward it to ROOT's cipher and decryption department. Danzo stood with the other two jounin and saluted the hokage, "Sir!"

"At ease." Sarutobi waited for Danzo and the others to return to their seats before he continued, "Since this is the first quarterly report and you have not had your genin team's the entire quarter I want a general overview of your team's status before you begin to report on specific members. Who would like to go first?"

Asuma and Kurenai both started to speak then looked at each other and blushed. Danzo allowed himself an eye-roll at the lover's moment and waited for them to figure out who would report first. Finally Asuma began, "Jounin Asuma Sarutobi reporting for team ten. Team ten has completed seventeen D-rank missions and one C-rank mission since its formation. Like their parents, the team is best suited for a capture and interrogation role and I am training them in that direction. As expected from the second generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio the team possesses notable teamwork."

Asuma looked at his father to see if the overview was sufficient before continuing, "Genin Shikamaru Nara defaults into the leadership role in combat situations, though he is unwilling to be assertive outside of combat. I am leaving most of his training to his clan and instead focusing on helping him develop mentally. I circumspectly tested his IQ and he is a genius."

Sarutobi looked at his son sharply and asked, "So were the academy results incorrect?"

Asuma shook his head, "I doubt it. He probably thought it was 'troublesome' and didn't put very much effort into academy assignments. That kid is like an old man. He likes to take things slowly."

Danzo wondered if that was a nice way to call a student lazy before asking, "So what is his projected development?"

"He has mastered the Shadow Bind to Yoshino-san's standards and she currently has him working on mastering the Shadow Imitation. Otherwise she is focusing on increasing his chakra capacity by making him capture deer for the clan pharmaceuticals. I intend to enroll him in the ANBU investigations course the next time a session begins if he meets the requirements or you will waive them hokage-sama." Danzo resisted a snort, it was obvious which of the two would occur. Even with their checkered past Sarutobi wouldn't refuse his son something like that.

"I will consider it. What of the other members of your team?"

"Genin Chouji Akimichi is the team's sole heavy combatant. Physically he is a monster, his raw strength is chunin level easily. Unfortunately he lacks the confidence to use it effectively so his taijutsu is mediocre for a genin. He can currently perform his clan's multi-size technique and calorie control technique, but according to his father he is a long way from achieving mastery of either. When the team confronted a pair of yakuza toughs during our c-rank protection mission he utilized one of his families food pills to augment his strength."

"Aren't those extremely dangerous?" Kurenai interrupted.

Danzo's kept his face calm but wondered, 'What were you doing during this?'

"I have been assured by Chouza-san that although the food pills are dangerous, the first pill won't cause any lasting harm. According to him the pill get their bad reputation because consuming the third food pill is tantamount to opening the eight gates. I intend to let Chouji to continue training in his clan's techniques. I am trying to boost his confidence and am giving him supplementary taijutsu lessons."

"As you know my third genin is Ino Yamanaka. She is suited for reconnaissance and espionage; she is extremely effective at getting information out of people, though I would recommend against formal interrogation training at the moment. Among my three genin she is best with the standard academy ninjutsu, but her taijutsu is … lacking. Her chakra pool is larger than Shikamaru's but smaller than Chouji's."

"During the fight with yakuza she used her clan's mind-body switch technique to sow confusion, but left her body vulnerable. Her teammates were forced to divert attention between protecting her and the client. Her father is helping her learn her clan's techniques and her mother is giving her an education in basic poisons and antidotes. I am offering to help her improve her taijutsu, but she is not currently interested in additional physical training." Asuma looked over at Danzo and added, "Oh and she has a crush on your prize student Danzo-sama."

"...I see."

Kurenai smiled and asked, "I guess I'm next?" After a nod from Sarutobi she continued, "Jounin-sensei Kurenai Yuhi reporting for team eight. Team eight has completed twenty six D-rank missions since its creation. The team is best suited for reconnaissance and tracking. The team recently was asked to help in the the second stage of the hunter ninja selection trials as one of the pursuit forces and were able to successfully eliminate twelve of the hunter ninja candidates from the running. The team shows an acceptable degree of teamwork for a group that has only been operating together for two and a half months. They also display an unexpected degree of proficiency at taijutsu."

Danzo wondered if team eight's impressive display in the hunter ninja trials was the result of the team's unexpected prowess or of slipping standards. He made a mental note to have someone at internal affairs look into the matter before returning his attention to Kurenai's speech.

"-She exhibits an almost crippling lack of confidence. Her taijutsu is, as expected of a Hygua, above average. When she spars against me she preforms at the level expected of a chunin, but when against her teammates she falls to about mid-genin proficiency. She also display's an unexpected knowledge of herbal remedies and medicine. Due to her position as a clan heiress she has an exceptional knowledge of etiquette and ceremony."

"Her father has assured me he will supervise her education in the gentle fist style and has asked me to make time for his instruction. I am focusing my instruction on improving her confidence and ability to work with the rest of the team. Because of her byakugan, she does not need instruction in breaking genjutsu so I am focusing on increasing her teammates proficiency in breaking genjutsu before advancing all three of the to more advanced instruction."

"Genin Kiba Inuzuka is at times distressingly brash and overconfident, but listens to his teammates when they speak up. His taijutsu when working with his partner, Akumaru, is exceptional. He has yet to lose a taijutsu spar with either of his teammates. In fact, I would match him up favorably against most new chunin in a taijutsu only spar. He has an exceptional amount of chakra for a genin and the worse chakra control I have ever seen, though I hear one of your students is worse Danzo-sama."

"I haven't heard that."

Danzo watched Kurenai flush a bit before continuing, "He is learning collaboration techniques from his clan, but according to Tsume-san, Akamaru is currently too young to learn most of the more powerful clan techniques. I am working on his attitude and trying to get him to think before he jumps into a situation that he can't handle, but it is a slow effort. His poor control makes the genjutsu release technique extremely difficult for him and I am spending a great deal of time trying to bring his skill with it up to par."

"Unlike the other two Genin Shino Aburame is a bit of a mystery. When I received his profile from the academy I almost complained of negligence. They had him listed within two spots of dead middle in every category. Every teacher's comment in his file can be summed up as 'he is quiet'. I'm glad I didn't complain because in these last two months I haven't done much better. He responds politely when spoken to and volunteers nothing."

"So he is like his father."

"I don't think that is a fair comparison. While he shares many traits with the rest of the clan, such as his love for observing insects, I doubt he acts in such an unusual manner because of Aburame logic. I don't know why, but Shino is paranoid. He marks everyone he meets with his bugs and hides his skills whenever possible. I know his mother has been training him in the Aburame clan style since he was six, but he only uses the academy style in taijutsu spars."

Kurenai realized how fair off of topic they had drifted and returned to addressing her genin's skills. "Shino may be my strongest genin. The level of taijutsu he has displayed is mid genin, but I believe his actual level is somewhere between high genin and low chunin. According to his father Shino can use several of the clan techniques including the insect clone. In mock combat his use of his clan's bug techniques shows a level of tactics and planning rarely seen in genin."

"Since he possesses the necessary degree of chakra control I plan to start giving him basic instruction in genjutsu once Kiba masters the release technique. I hope that by learning some genjutsu he will be able to overcome a few of the standard Aburame weaknesses. Otherwise I am leaving his instruction to his mother and father since he will not allow me to gather enough information about his current level to give him meaningful instruction in other areas. Since his supposed paranoia is not negatively impacting the team I have no plans to address it."

"Thank you Kurenai-san." Sarutobi took a breath before asking. "And team seven?"

"Jounin-sensei Danzo Shimura reporting for team seven. Team seven has completed nine D-rank missions. The team is best suited for heavy combat. At its formation team seven possessed a notable lack of teamwork." He shot Sarutobi a glance and continued, "In my opinion they would have failed sensei's bell test. This is no longer the case." Danzo turned to look at the other two jounin-sensei's and continued, "Though their teamwork isn't at the level of the famous trio or even exceptional they work together well enough. I have dedicated most of the past two and a half months to training certain members up to the level they should have possessed when they graduated from the academy."

"Genin Sakura Haruno was a fan girl somehow labeled the top kunoichi of her class, which makes me grieve for today's youth. After two and half months of exercise her physical condition is comparable to a middle of the class academy student."

He looked at Sarutobi in time to catch the old man signing, _"What are you doing?"_

He signed back, _"After."_ before covering the pause by saying, "Physically your grandson would beat her, though on a purely technical level her taijutsu is probably mid genin. She knows no worthwhile ninjutsu. However, Genjutsu is a bright spot. I have managed to teach her the hell viewing technique and the false surroundings technique. In addition Kakashi taught her the mist servant technique. She has also learned a bit of medicine."

"I am currently working on improving her chakra capacity, another area where she is currently inferior to your grandson hokage-sama. When she has the chakra capacity to support it I will begin instruction in more advanced genjutsu and maybe a few defensive ninjutsu. When the hospital begins another course on medical jutsu I intend to enroll her."

"Genin Naruto Uzumaki is dead last of his class. It showed. I am proud to say that he has grown up a bit over the past two months, though his teammates still haven't gotten him to burn that jumpsuit. His physical strength is in line with a genin, but his taijutsu isn't. In fact I'm fairly sure he skipped several of the more important academy taijutsu lessons, like the ones where you learn how to punch and kick." Danzo watched the other jounin try to decide if he was making a joke or not before continuing, "Since joining team seven his taijutsu has improved markedly. Now he can probably beat your grandson in a fair fight. Of course any genin would trounce him. When he graduated his control could be charitably described as horrible, after months of hard work he has improved it to merely bad but he still can't perform the basic clone technique"

Danzo suppressed a smile at the dirty looks he was getting and said, "For the foreseeable future I will continue to help him improve his taijutsu and control until they reach the standards I expect from a genin. At that point I will help him learn a few supplementary ninjutsu."

Danzo made a mental note of Kurenai and Asuma's relieved expressions when he started, "Genin Sasuke Uchiha was the top rookie of his class and continues to demonstrate why he deserved that title. His taijutsu is solidly low chunin. When I received him his chakra capacity was chunin level; he had enough to perform the grand fireball technique. However his large capacity came with the standard control issues, so we have mainly worked on the basic chakra control exercises. He has completed tree climbing and water walking though I wouldn't say he has mastered either. He has not unlocked his sharingan and lacks the control required for genjutsu without it, so after teaching him the release technique that subject has been largely left alone."

"For the immediate future I intend to help him continue improving his control. Kakashi plans to help him learn a few other ninjutsu to improve his library, but he has been having trouble teaching techniques he copied in the first place. I assume that problem will disappear when Sasuke unlocks his own sharingan. Once I am satisfied by Sasuke's control I intend to start him on elemental manipulation." He paused a moment in thought then added, "I know that if he has lightning Kakashi wants to teach him the chidori."

Asuma protested, "You intended to teach a genin elemental manipulation?"

Danzo kept the annoyance off his face and answered, "Yes."

Sarutobi broke the awkward silence, "Thank you for your time. Shimura-san will you stay behind a moment please?"

Danzo watched Asuma and Kurenai file from the room and wondered if they had drawn the conclusions he wanted them to. Sarutobi was kind enough to wait for them to leave completely before asking, "What was that about?"

"If my team continues to progress at this rate they will be ready for the chunin exams should they want to compete. No point in tipping off the competition."

"So you lied to my jounin so your team would gain an advantage in an competition they might or might not be in?"

Danzo put on his 'I'm innocent' and said, "Lied? I'm not sure why, but his taijutsu really is that bad, and he is improving slower than I expected. Worse, I might have been overly generous when describing his control." Sarutobi did not look amused. Danzo finally admitted, "I just might have forgot to mention a few things he excels in."

"So how much have they really improved?" Danzo pulled out the written assignment he had given to Naruto and handed it to Sarutobi. He pulled open the scroll and spent a couple minutes frowning at the scroll before saying, "You taught them cryptography?"

Danzo ruthlessly suppressed a chuckle. "His hand writing is that bad." He frowned a moment then made a mental leap, "When I start Sakura on seals I'm going to include Naruto in the lessons. He doesn't have the math background for it, but he might have inherited the Uzumaki talent and even if he has no aptitude for it his hand writing will improve."

"Oh your going to teach the two genin you made out to be worthless something as complicated as sealing without offering it to your prized student, the Uchiha?" He joked, when it didn't elicit a response he continued, "Have your worries about his mental stability panned out?"

"Actually that's something I'm still confused by. After their first mission he totally reversed his stance on his teammates. I know he's still obsessed with killing his brother, but somehow that obsession has helped the team stabilize. Also watching him try to set up Sakura and Naruto as a couple is one of the funniest things I have ever had the pleasure of watching."

Sarutobi coughed and returned to the original subject, "So how is Naruto?"

Danzo quirked an eyebrow, "Oh so you don't want to hear about Sakura?" Sarutobi gave Danzo an irritated look, so he answered, "I have been working on covering the holes in his academy education, he is up to where he actually should be in history and math now. As I mentioned, his control is still bad. This is mitigated by the fact his reserves are at least high jounin. Kakashi thinks that Naruto has about twice as much chakra as him. Naruto can waste charka every time he uses an technique and he will still last hours longer than his teammates."

"He is also getting smarter about how he uses his techniques. That nigh-incomprehensible scroll in your hands is his answer to a question I posed in the team's last group meeting. I asked the team to examine the faults of the substitution technique and how to overcome them. From the small patches of his answer that I can read he drew a rather interesting parallel with the body-flicker technique."

"According to Naruto body-flicker is widely considered a showman's technique that is useless in a fight because it takes three seconds to form the chakra required for a jump. But then someone came a long and figured out how to cut that time down to a little over a second. Suddenly you have the combat juggernaut Shisui of the body-flicker."

"To Naruto substitution is the same sort of technique. Currently substitution is almost useless in a fight because you must prepare something like a log to substitute with in advance. Naruto's solution was simple; just make something during the fight."

Sarutobi's face lit up in realization. "Shadow clone."

"When Naruto masters the reduced seal version of substitution no genin will ever be able to touch him."

"All that with terrible taijutsu and bad control."

"He is working hard at improving all of his faults." Danzo paused a moment then said, "Sakura's solution was almost as interesting as Naruto's. She followed the same logic as him but came to an entirely different conclusion. She decided 'why not just substitute with something that is already there?'" Danzo grinned and delivered a little bombshell, "She managed to substitute herself with a pocket of air."

"What?" Sarutobi looked at him with undisguised shock.

"I will have a copy of her solution passed along to you, but don't get your hopes up, no one has been able to duplicate her trick yet. And she is not going to demonstrate it again until she can do it without giving herself chakra exhaustion."

Sarutobi paused a moment to digest that then asked, "I am curious, what do you actually plan for your team?"

"If they complete their tenth mission to my satisfaction then I will recommend them for their first C-rank mission."

"Are they ready for that?"

"Everyone but Naruto can water walk and he will have it down in another week or two. Working together they are a match for any chunin, and they all … fulfilled my other requirement."

Sarutobi's irritated frown was back. "Naruto was inconsolable for days after that."

"Better here than in the field. You heard your sons report, his genin were not willing to kill their foes, and they were driven to the point where they had to use something dangerous to capture a pair of yakuza. Team ten should have won that fight easily."

Sarutobi changed the subject, "How does team seven stack up against the other two teams?"

"Well I don't know that much-"

"I know you have ROOT reporting on the other teams."

"Why would I do that...I just had internal affairs give me a copy of the relevant files." Sarutobi fought back a smile and Danzo continued, "It wouldn't be a contest. They are without a doubt the strongest team of their generation."

"So what D-rank do you plan to send them on tomorrow?"

Danzo's face twisted in an evil grin. "I do believe that it is time for Madame Shinji's cat to make another daring escape."

"You didn't."

"Ah the joy's of running ROOT."

DTDTDTDTDT

"Kakashi has not returned from his mission yet, so I will be pretending to supervise you on today's mission." Danzo pulled out a red D-rank scroll and said, "We have been asked to retrieve Madame Shinji's lost cat, Tora. He can be identified by the red ribbon on his right ear. Sasuke you are the team leader for this mission." He paused a moment then added, "Dismissed."

"Yes, Danzo-sensei." Danzo gave his team a small smile and sat down on the bench. According to Sai, Tora was in fine form. He would have time to grade those essay's on the implications of different types of terrain.

Naruto waited for Danzo to be out of earshot before asking, "So what's the plan?"

Sasuke shrugged then said, "Not a clue. Do you know anything about this cat?"

Sakura looked like she wanted to say something then sighed and admitted, "Nope." Naruto just shook his head.

"We could just do what we do every time."

"Have stupid throw shadow clones at the problem until it goes away?"

"Jerk." Naruto tried to scowl at Sasuke but despite his efforts one side of his lip kept ticking upwards into a smile.

For a moment his teammates stared at him. Then Sakura bust out laughing. A moment later Sasuke and Naruto joined in. When they recovered Sasuke instructed, "Ten pairs of two, have them sweep the village from the North. Meanwhile the three of us will go to the market district and ask around."

Naruto spent a moment carefully metering his chakra, trying to minimize the amount he wasted, before shouting **Shadow Clone**. Twenty copies of Naruto appeared in puffs of smoke around him. At Naruto's urging the clones lined up and he gave them a few additional instructions. "Alright, when you find the cat one of you dismisses after you grab it. The other gets to hold onto it until we come pick it up and deliver it to Madame Shinji ourselves."

"You guys might as well relax, since we're going to find it in moments. Believe it!"

Sasuke watched the Naruto clones run off towards the Northern edge of the village for a moment then said, "Did your clone just try to one up us?"

Naruto shrugged. "Want to take them up on that offer Sakura-chan?"

She equivocated "Sasuke-kun is the team leader."

"Well what do you say oh great team leader?"

Sasuke frowned a moment and thought, 'If Danzo-sensei catches us screwing around on a mission; he might not let us go on a C-rank, and I can't put up with D-ranks any longer. Somehow he always catches us too. How does he do that?' Sasuke forced himself back on to the subject at hand before he got too far onto a tangent and said, "We can grab something quick if we do it while asking about the cat."

Naruto's eyes lit up, but Sakura interrupted him before he could open his mouth, "No ramen!"

"Sakura-chan that's heresy."

Sasuke decided, "Dango it is." before Naruto began to extol the various benefits of ramen.

They made it to the market district before Naruto asked, "So who's buying?" He spent fraction of a second looking at his teammates expressions before shouting, "Not it."

Sakura gave Sasuke a set of puppy dog eyes and said, "Will you do it Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to rub his temples and said, "Why don't we play rock-paper-scissors for it instead." He might not have his sharingan, but he could still read hand motions better than the other two members of team seven.

All three members of team seven chanted, "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot." And signed while trying to read their opponents. Naruto's hand reached the center a fraction of a second before he could finish changing his rock into scissors, leaving him the loser against his Sakura and Sasuke's last second decision to both choose paper.

He hung his head in defeat and asked, "So what do you want?"

Sakura handed him a few bills and said, "Chestnut please."

Sasuke paid him and said, "I want soy, remember to ask the owner about the cat."

Naruto sighed, he wouldn't be able to find chestnut flavored Dango at one of the street vendors. He would have to go visit that specialty shop at the end of the street.

The shop was small but well furnished with small booths separated by paper hangings. He ignored the seating and walked over to the takeout counter. The owner of the shop saw him come in and met him at the counter a second later. The owner stared at him a moment before finally asking in a gruff voice, "What will you have?"

Naruto was about to ask about the runaway cat when he saw a flash of purple hair that blasted the question from his mind and made his eyes snap wide open in shock. That crazy exhibitionist lady who had slammed his clone into her cleavage was sitting, fully clothed, calmly eating dango in a pretty pink and white kimono. He stuttered, "Anko?"

"One order of red bean paste coming up."

That snapped Naruto out of his shock, he quickly corrected the owner with a gesture to a pretty purple haired kunoichi, "No I meant that Anko."

"Oh, Mitarashi-san. What about her?"

He waived his arm's wildly as his powers of speech failed him. "She's...kimono."

"Oh that. Her tea ceremony club meets today." He looked at the line building up and gave Naruto an irritated look before asking, "So what will you have?"

Naruto answered, "Two chestnut and a toasted soy please." as he tried to understand the implications of Anko being in a tea ceremony club. By the time he collected his order, Naruto had realized that he knew almost nothing about the purple haired kunoichi and resolved not to form opinions off of a single meeting. He frowned, 'Danzo-sensei would be disappointed in me.'

The sudden burst of memories from a dismissed clone forced him to shift attentions. He ran to where Sasuke and Sakura were talking to a street vendor and said, "They found it."

Naruto and Sasuke started running, leaving Sakura behind when she paused to bow before the vendor and said, "Thank you ma'am," before chasing after her teammates.

When Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were about to turn into the ally they heard Naruto's clone shout in pain. The members of team seven all abruptly stopped. A second later a brown cat with a red ribbon sprinted from the ally. A Naruto clone stumbled out a second later and said, "That isn't a cat, it's a demon," before vanishing into a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke spent a moment wondering, 'How did a cat beat a ninja?' then suddenly realized their quarry was getting away and shouted, "After it!" Sasuke and Sakura started sprinting after the cat. A moment later Naruto pushed away the sudden phantom pain's assaulting his face and joined the hunt.

Sasuke reached the cat first and made a lunging grab. Tora jumped in time to slap Sasuke in the face with his bushy tail. That proved to be a mistake on the cat's part, Sakura managed to grab a hold of the tail before Tora could withdraw it. Sakura squeezed hard and yanked the cat back when it tried to jump away.

The cat made a pained yelp and turned on Sakura. For the first time since Danzo had decided to give them mandatory uniforms, Sakura was completely and unabashedly grateful for the heavy green jacket. Tora's claws couldn't pierce the heavy green fabric, so he sent an angry swipe at her face. Sakura dropped Tora and grabbed where the little demon had scratched her cheek. Tora tried to dive through Sakura's legs while she was occupied, but Naruto was waiting on the other side. Tora performed an abrupt about face to dodge the blond and ran write into Sasuke's waiting arms.

Sakura glared at the cat Sasuke was holding tightly while Naruto rubbed antiseptic into her wound. She managed to suppress the urge to twist Tora's little neck and thought, 'That little demon made me look bad to Sasuke-kun, I have to make it pay.' When Naruto finished taping on a small piece of gauze she rapidly form a series of hand-signs and whispered, **Demonic Illusion : Hell Viewing**. She watched with satisfaction as Tora's body went stiff. When the little beast started twitching an malicious grin spread over her face.

Sasuke and Naruto stared at their teammate's smile before independently coming to the same conclusion, 'Scary...'

Naruto recovered first, "Sakura-chan did you really just put that cat in a genjutsu?"

That grin didn't change, "Yes, yes I did."

Sasuke looked down at the twitching bundle of fur in his hand then back up at his unexpectedly vindictive teammate before finally saying, "You know you have to cancel this." When he saw Sakura was about to make the release gesture he interrupted before she could finish, "But we need to find a cat carrier first."

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto woke up with a big grin splattered across his face. It was time for his first real mission. He dressed quickly while mumbling a list of things he would need for the mission, "Ramen, ninja wire, explosive tags, maybe a few of those paint tags Danzo-sensei made us practice with...Hmm I was saving those for a prank though... Oh well, I'll bring them anyway, and I definitely need ramen, shuriken, kunai, and a couple of those folding shuriken that Sasuke gave to me."

Naruto had found about half the items on his mental list when a loud knock on his door interrupted the search. "Who is it?"

Sakura's voice called back, "Kohona sanitation department come to condemn your room."

"Morning, Sakura-chan."

"Open up stupid." Naruto unlocked the door and Sakura walked into his messy apartment. She sat on the edge of his bed and said, "I came to make sure you didn't pack a bunch of stupid stuff."

Naruto shot her an excited smile, "That's so sweet Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blushed and replied, "I can't let you drag me and Sasuke-kun down because you are too stupid to pack correctly."

Naruto pulled out the last of his emergency ramen supply and sat it on top the stack of ninja supplies. He pointed and said, "I think I did fairly well."

Sakura suppressed a sigh, "So where are your spare clothes? What about your weapon maintenance kit or your first aid kit? You didn't even bring a waterproof tarp." Sakura suppressed a giggle as Naruto dramatically hung his head in front of her. "Come on, I'll help you pack properly." She looked around and said, "Where is that sealing scroll that Danzo-sensei gave you?"

"Oh yeah I forgot about it!" Naruto started digging junk out from underneath his bed until he pulled the scroll out with a shout of, "Yes!"

The quickly separated the supplies into a pile of spare ninja supplies, a pile of ramen and explosive tags and a pile of everything else. Naruto shot Sakura a curious glance at the organization and she replied, "Remember Danzo-sensei said we can't seal consumables into these scrolls since they are cheap. And its bad policy to seal explosive tags inside a scroll, they can accidentally trigger when you unseal them."

Naruto sealed most of the supplies away and slipped the scroll into a waterproof case before packing his bag. He stuffed the first aid kit into the big pocket on the leg opposite of his kunai holster, then made sure he had the correct amount of shuriken and kunai immediately available. Dying because all of your kunai were sealed away in your backpack would be humiliating. He smiled contently at Sakura and threw on the ugly green jacket Danzo had made the team's mandatory uniform. After he strapped on his arm guards and his forehead protector he spent a moment looking in the mirror, then grabbed an old sock to try to polish out some of the scuffs in the armor.

He stopped when Sakura started giggling. "I never thought I would see you preen in the mirror like Ino."

"Hey, I'm not that bad! And Danzo-sensei say's looking good when you meet clients is important. We are the face of our village, if we don't look professional then no one will take the village seriously."

Sakura looked at her own arm guards, which she had polished until they shown a deep green and decided to not push the issue. "Your right. So do you think Captain Kakashi will be on time since its our first C-rank?"

"If I thought he was going to meet us on time I would have gotten up an hour ago."

"Hmm, I still think we should go with Sasuke-kun's plan and make the scarecrow wait on us. It would be funny to tell him about how we 'got lost on the road of life'."

"Yeah right up until he reported us to Danzo-sensei. That man has no sense of humor."

"You're just mad he knew the shoes were your fault. Though I must admit; I am curious how did you get Kurenai-san to put that genjutsu on him?"

"Trade secret. I'm still mad you and Sasuke ruined it by asking why his shoes were squeaking."

"How were we supposed to know he couldn't hear it. You should have trusted in your teammates more."

Naruto threw on his pack and opened the door for Sakura before following her out and locking it behind them. "So what kind of mission do you think we will get?"

"I hope we get a patrol mission, I want to see some of the other cities."

"I'm hoping for an escort mission. I heard that team ten was assigned to protect a poor rice merchant and ended up overthrowing a yakuza group that tried to strong arm their client."

"I doubt that. There is no way the mission office would assign something as dangerous as that to a bunch of rookie genin. More likely their sensei beat a couple of yakuza up at a bar and they tried to get revenge later only to miserably fail." Sakura saw their third teammate and shouted, "Good Morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Morning. Where is the scarecrow?"

"Haven't seen him yet."

While team seven waited on the bench outside the mission hall for their Captain to surface, they checked each others pack and traded theories on what they would have to do on their first C-rank mission. They all froze when a voice called out behind them, "Well, I think you all will receive the C-rank mission of babysitting Ibiki's four year old daughter. It used to be a D-rank assignment, but the last group of genin that got tricked into playing with her..." Kakashi shook his head then added, "That poor dog was never the same."

Sakura recovered first, "Captain, does Ibiki even have a daughter?"

"Nah, I was just screwing with you...Though he did marry a cute Nara girl last year." Kakashi took in the three disbelieving expressions and changed the subject, "Lets go get your mission." He lead them into the mission hall then added, "Oh, Danzo-san says you are the team leader for this one Naruto, I won't intervene unless I have too."

Before Naruto and Kakashi could get in line, the chunin running the mission desk called out to them, "Since this is team seven's first C-rank hokage-sama wants to see you personally. Head over to his office for your scroll."

Naruto shrugged and said, "Guess Danzo-sensei told them ahead of time." The door to the hokage's office at the mission hall was left open for team seven. The hokage smiled at them when Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke filled into the room. Naruto shouted, "Hey old man, the lady running the desk said we have to come to you for our mission."

Kakashi sighed at the disrespect and was about to scold Naruto when the third cut him off, "Yes Naruto, I want to make sure you are really ready for this mission. C-rank missions have killed promising young ninja in the past. Why should I give a C-rank to your team?"

Naruto glanced at his teammates. Sasuke looked like he was about to shout at the old man and Sakura looked like she had been betrayed. Naruto looked back at the third hokage and calmly told him, "Because we are ready."

The third stared at them a moment longer and then admitted, "I guess you are." He pulled a scroll from his desk and tossed it to Kakashi before saying, "A am assigning team seven a C-ranked escort and protection mission."

"Really! Who are we protecting?" Naruto interrupted.

"I was about to introduce him." He turned to the door to the civilian waiting area and said, "You can came in now, Tazuna-san."

Sakura cringed when a middle aged man with gray hair who stunk of sweat and booze stumbled into the room. He took one look at his escort and grabbed his sake bottle. After a couple drink's for fortification he finally asked, "What's this?" The took another drink and shouted, "They are all a bunch of super brats." He wiped the trail of sake running from his lips with the towel he had around his neck and turned to the hokage, "Especially … The shortest one with the stupid looking face." Naruto watched with bile fascination Tazuna swung around and shouted, "Are you really a ninja?" When Naruto didn't respond he took a step and shouted, "HEY?"

Suddenly Naruto realized something and asked his teammates, "I'm the shortest one, aren't I?"

"Yep"

Sasuke grabbed onto Naruto's wrist before he turned the drunk into a pincushion and angrily whispered, "We can't kill the person we are supposed to protect idiot."

Naruto clinched his teeth and managed to nod when Tazuna continued his drunken rant, "I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna." He took another drink and mumbled, "I expect you to provide me with super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge." Tazuna walked from the mission hall, and after a moment team seven followed him.

As Naruto was about to step out of the office, he turned and told the hokage, "Just so you know old man, in revenge for this I'm teaching Konohamaru how to use explosive tags the next time I see him." With a flourish Naruto strode out from the room leaving a shivering hokage behind.

Team seven walked in silence to the village gates as their client ranted about how super he was. Sasuke was seriously reconsidering his decision to stop Naruto from killing the moron. Sakura happily zoned the old man out and was looking forward to seeing another country for the first time. When they walked through Kohona's massive gates Naruto turned to his teammates and said, "You know this is the first time I have ever left Kohona."

Unfortunately he said it loud enough for Tazuna to hear. The man stumbled over to Kakashi and shouted, "Am I really going to be safe with this brat?"

Naruto clenched his fists and managed to calm himself enough to think, 'I'm the team leader, I have got to stop this. He is disrespecting us and our village, how would Danzo-sensei handle this?' He couldn't think of anything so he just decided to go with threats. Naruto took a deep breath and walked over to where Kakashi was placating Tazuna. When the drunk turned on him, Naruto hit him in the gut and sent him sprawling across the ground. He looked down at the bridge builder with his best sneer and said, "Let me make something very clear. We are ninja. We will protect you until our contract runs out, now shut the hell up and let us do our job."

The bridge builder looked like he wanted to protest when Sasuke broke into the conversation, "Team leader could just kill him and hide the body. Unfortunate accidents happen all the time."

Tazuna was mouthing team leader when Sakura added her two cents, "Why do it ourselves? If he's paying for protection some petty crook or another wants to kill him. We might even make some money turning him over."

The drunk's eyes when wide open and the flush vanished from his face. He stuttered, "You...wouldn't do that … Would you?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi a moment then said, "We are ninja." Before helping the drunk onto his feet. Naruto turned to his teammates and said, "We will stay in close formation with Tazuna-san, I will create a few shadow clones to scout the area around us and have a decoy group of clones stay about five minutes ahead of us on the road. Any suggestions."

Kakashi thought a moment and said, "Anything I can think of would be excessive for this level of protection. Are you sure you can handle the strain of maintaining that many clones?" He was mildly disconcerted by the three enigmatic grins plastered on the faces of team seven but brushed it off.

After Naruto made his clones and put them into a decent patrol route the team set off towards wave country.

The walked quietly a long ways before Sakura finally broke the silence. "Tazuna-san you're from wave country right?"

The bridge builder grumbled, "What about it?"

Sakura was put off by the man's attitude and turned to Kakashi and asked, "I can't remember from Danzo-sensei's lectures, do they have ninja's in that country too?"

He looked at Naruto a moment before giving her a smile and replying, "Not anymore." Sakura caught the hint and dropped the subject, but made a mental note to privately peruse it later. If it involved her teammate she needed to know.

Naruto froze. "Two mist ninja just ambushed my decoy clones. They use a chain and claws in combat and targeted your clone first Captain. Friends of yours?"

Kakashi swore and said, "I don't recognize them."

"You don't have time to look through your bingo book. They just finished off the last of my clones and are headed this way." As if to accentuate Naruto's comment a swarm of kunai exploded from the tree's around them. Naruto and Sakura closed in on each side of Tazuna and swatted the kunai that would hit him out of the air, leaving Kakashi and Sasuke to fend for themselves.

Naruto shouted to Sasuke, "Flush them out." In response Sasuke rapidly signed **Fire Style: Great Fireball**. Naruto waited a second then inhaled deeply and signed **Wind Style: Gentle Breeze**. When the wind technique caught up with the fireball it went from a bright orange to a dark, barely visible blue for a fraction of a second before it exploded into the woods with a bass thump.

Sakura looked at the devastation and asked "Do you think-" when a pair of mist ninja shot from the ground. One jumped high, dragging a the sharp chain which connected him to the other ninja into the air with him, when the other charged the group. Naruto met the one that charged head on with a brutal kick. The mist ninja countered with a vicious jab from the heavy metal claw he wore on his right hand. When Naruto ducked under the blow he brought the claw low and tried to wrap Naruto in the chain.

Sasuke followed the one that jumped and mentally judged he didn't have time for another fireball so sent an trio of kunai towards the mist ninja before jumping up to meet him. The ninja brought the gauntlet on his left hand down in a hard chop as soon as Sasuke was in range. Sasuke accepted the blow on his arm guards and twisted underneath the mist ninja the second before they landed. The mist ninja rolled the second they hit the ground, dodging Sasuke's attempt to put a kunai in his back.

Then Sakura finished the last sign and whispered, **Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing**. For a fraction of a second Naruto's foe froze before clasping his hands together and dismissing the genjutsu, but that was all Naruto needed. As soon as the opening came Naruto stepped inside the mist ninja's guard and sent him to the ground with a crushing series of blows to his knee chest and head. For a fraction of a second he paused, deciding whether or not to finish off his dazed foe. That was all the other mist ninja needed to hit him from behind.

Sasuke's opponent saw his brother go down and sent a kick at Sasuke. It was blocked easily, but it was enough to give him some room. He yanked on the chain connecting him with his brother hard, sending him flying towards Naruto's back. Naruto heard Sasuke shout in supreme and barely turned fast enough to avoid being skewed. He brought his arm guards together and blocked the claw, leaving him wide open to the mist ninja's hay maker. Naruto was sent flying and Sakura desperately whispered **Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings.** She barely made it in time to save Naruto from the mist ninja's follow up attack.

The mist ninja snarled as the leaf ninja who had hurt his brother vanished from view and stabbed where he thought the brat had fallen. He would have killed Naruto if the blond genin hadn't rolled away a second before. When his claw didn't contact anything the mist ninja spared a second to cancel the illusion and resolved to kill the pink brat who kept throwing up genjutsu. He made it two steps before Kakashi decided to intervene in the fight.

Kakashi appeared suddenly in front of the arranged mist ninja and sent a sudden strike to the ninja's leg. Their was a sickening crack of breaking bone and the mist ninja was on the ground. The ninja tried to roll away, but froze when he felt the sharp point of Sasuke's kunai against the back of his neck.

Naruto picked himself off of the ground and wiped the trail of blood dripping from his mouth before asking, "So friends of yours?"

Before Kakashi could answer Sakura interrupted, "Their weapon's were poisoned. You and Sasuke-kun need to take the general antidote in case you got nicked."

Naruto crunched the antidote pill and waited while Kakashi flipped through his bingo book. "The Demon brothers, Gozu and Meizu, are missing ninja from the hidden mist. They graduated the academy at twelve and were promoted to chunin at eighteen." Naruto nodded and began to disarm the one Kakashi indicated was Gozu while Sasuke worked on Meizu. They had them both tied up by the time Meizu recovered consciousness.

Kakashi gestured for Naruto to begin while Sakura dragged a scared Tazuna from the area. Naruto gave them a fake smile and ran everything Danzo-sensei had taught him about a field interrogation before he said, "Lets keep this simple, we are all professional's here. You Gozu will tell me what I want to know or I kill your brother."

Meizu spat at him, "You don't have the gut's brat."

Naruto gestured to Sasuke. Meizu was sent sprawling with a vicious kick to the back of his head. When he tried to rise Naruto stepped on his head and growled in his ear, "I wasn't talking to you."

Gozu decided to intervene before the blonde one killed his brother, "Ask, then I'll decide if I want to answer. You don't have time to interrogate us and protect Tazuna."

Kakashi's eyes widened a bit and Naruto's smile was back, "You just told me everything I needed to know. Sasuke can you watch them for a bit? The Captain and I need to have a little discussion with Tazuna."

Sasuke asked, "Why don't we just kill them?" but their wasn't really any force behind the question.

"Their alive bounty is higher."

"Fair enough."

Tazuna was waiting with Sakura a bit up the road. Sakura saw their serious expressions and wondered what they had learned. Her question was answered a moment later when Naruto asked, "Tazuna-san would you kindly explain why two missing ninja from the hidden mist are trying to kill you?"

Tazuna started to sweat a bit and denied, "They didn't have anything to do with me."

"Oh, then why do two missing ninja know your name?"

Tazuna's mouth worked like a fish for a moment then he sighed and said, "A super dangerous man is after my life." Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura gave him very level looks. Tazuna winced, then continued, "You have probably at least heard of his name. The wealthy shipping magnate...A man named Gatou."

"Crap."

Naruto gave Sakura a strange look after the unexpected outburst then asked, "Okay what do you know Sakura-chan."

"He was on that list of people that Danzo-sensei made me memorize. He is an incredibly rich man with no allegiance or moral framework. Sensei's notes advised that if we needed supplies and are unable to use the normal sources Gatou will sell almost anything for a price."

Tazuna picked up where Sakura left off, "He spent years selling illegal items like drugs and slaves, but a year ago he decided to expand his business. He hired a bunch of thugs and mercenaries along with a few ninja and quickly took over Wave's shipping industry. Besides a few smugglers he controls everything that goes in and out of the country."

The bridge builders face twisted into a smile and he grandstanded, "The only thing he fears now is the completion of the bridge. If the bridge falls then so does wave!"

"This mission is at least B-rank. Why did you knowingly hire us under false circumstances?"

"Wave country is super poor...We don't have enough money for an expensive B-rank mission. But don't worry if you abandon me now I will certainly die! My cute grandson will only cry for a few days. Oh yeah, and my beautiful daughter will spend the rest of her days hating leaf ninja! But it won't be your fault at all, so don't worry."

Naruto felt bad for the bridge builder but couldn't help but mutter, "Sob story," after the over the top presentation of his troubles.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. Evidently she didn't agree. "We can't just abandon them."

"Sakura remember what Danzo-sensei said and get a hold of your emotions. If Gatou is as rich as you say then the next attack isn't going to be a pair of chunin. It's going to be jounin. I don't want to be responsible for your death Sakura-chan."

She blushed a bit then said, "Despite the lies if we abandon our client in the face of adversity it looks bad for the leaf."

Naruto nodded then said, "Sakura-chan can you grab Sasuke? He needs to be involved in this discussion." He waited for her to get out of earshot before he asked, "Captain what's your opinion? You have a lot more experience at this than us."

"You did all did well in the fight against the demon brothers, and you handled yourselves well after it."

"I hesitated, it could have cost me my life."

"It was your first time in combat."

"It was a mistake."

Kakashi opened his mouth, then closed it and conceded the point. After a moment of thought he said, "During that fight and after none of you have acted like I expect genin to. You all act like a team of chunin even if your abilities aren't quite their yet, and if I was leading a team of chunin I would say go ahead on this mission."

Naruto saw Sakura and Sasuke walk towards them and said, "Thanks, Captain." When Sasuke arrived Naruto asked, "Has Sakura filled you in?" Sasuke nodded and Naruto put a smile on his face, "So how did you like the warmup?"

Sasuke smirked and answered, "If jounin aren't any better they might as well go ahead and name you hokage."

Naruto muttered, "Danzo-sensei is going to be furious." Then looked at his teammates and asked, "Are your ready to continue this mission knowing that we will be a serious risk to life and limb."

The responses were immediate and unfaltering, "I am."

"Well Captain, it looks like your soldiers are ready to march."

Kakashi paused a moment then answered, "I will protect you even if it kills me. I don't let my comrades die." He didn't want to know what Danzo would do to him if he lived after one of them dying. When it came to team seven the man scared him even more than normal.

The were all silent a moment until Tazuna asked, "So what are you going to do with the two you caught?"

Naruto looked at Kakashi for confirmation then answered, "We confine them in a hidden area with a few clones as guards and send a clone as a runner to leaf for a retrieval team."

After Naruto finished making the necessary clones they set off again. The walked quietly, each lost in their own worries and responsibilities until something occurred to Naruto. "If Gatou controls all of the shipping into and out of Wave, how are we going to get in?"

Tazuna looked at the blonde genin in disbelief and said, "For a team leader you sure are ill informed about the mission."

Naruto gave him an ugly look and answered, "And whose fault is that?"

Kakashi intervened before Naruto tore into the man, "Mine. The mission scroll details the route, sorry for not sharing."

Sasuke watched as Naruto reigned his temper in; he waited for Naruto to look relatively calm before he asked Kakashi, "So how are we going to get into Wave without Gatou knowing Captain."

"This road leads to one of the fishing villages that Gatou nominally controls, but in reality a few smugglers operate out of it without his knowledge. We will meet our ride about a mile south of the village and ride a boat to Wave's main island, from there it is a short walk to Tazuna's house."

The promised smuggler was a gruff man in his thirties who hid as much of his face as possible underneath his hat. The man nodded to Tazuna and escorted them onto his boat without a word. Naruto tried to find a comfortable seat among the tackle the man had left lying in the bottom of the boat.

With a nervous glance about the man pushed off the shore with his long paddle and started the engine. A moment later they were speeding out into the sea. The smugglers spoke abruptly, "Gatou changed his patrol boat's routes. I'm going to run us out into the tear instead of following the coast. I'll take us under power all the way to North branch, then I'll kill the motor and drift us down the straight. We will come into the main channel as late as possible then cross it quickly near your bridge. Once we're at the wave break we will take the route with vegetation in case we're being pursued. I'll use that abandoned dock near your bridge Tazuna."

Naruto wondered if he was the only one that had no idea what the smuggler was talking about, but decided against asking questions when Tazuna nodded and said, "Thanks."

The smuggler gave him an irritated look and said, "Thank me when you get there, if we see one of Gatou's patrols you are all swimming."

The bridge was one of the most impressive structures Naruto had ever seen. He decided he might even take the drunk's 'super expert bridge builder' remark seriously. When he had heard Tazuna's story he hadn't realized the scale of the project. He idly wondered how a poor island nation could afford a giant bridge but decided against asking. A moment later they were close enough to the bridge for him to answer his own question. The stone used in its construction was obviously salvaged from somewhere else. Many blocks had streaks of old paint on them, and the stone was occasionally engraved with symbols, one in particular occurred over and over. A circle with four points on the inside surrounding a spiral.

The fog rolled in when they reached the island's wave break. Naruto grimly smiled, the fog would make it harder to find them. The smuggler took them through one of the wave break's tunnels. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto stood and took in their first view of Wave.

A few moments later the smuggler pulled them up against and abandoned dock. They disembarked quietly. Once they were all off the smuggler looked at Tazuna and said, "This is it for me, goodbye and good luck."

Tazuna smiled back at the smuggler and replied, "Thank you so much." The smuggler pushed off the dock and revved the motor. In another moment he had vanished into the vegetation.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

**This time my comments are in bold. I saw someone else do this and for me it made it easier to see where the story ended. Hope it doesn't annoy you to much. **

**Sorry for cutting this off right before the first Zabuza fight but I try to keep my chapters around 10k words. If I had included the first Zabuza fight I would have been well over that limit. I ended it with them getting off the boat because I detest cliffhangers and this was the least cliffhanger place I could think of to end it.**

**Hey at least this is a week earlier than I thought it would be. **

**I decided to explain what happened in the gap between the previous chapter with a meeting because I couldn't think of a way to actually show the events that occurred without either going into far to much detail. Did the meeting work? Or was it detracting to the flow of the story? Do you think I should have spent a chapter or two to detail what occurred instead?**

**I have decide to not list jutsu at this point in time since most of them are self explanatory. If (when) I start throwing more complicated jutsu into the plot I might revise this opinion.**

**I thought about taking team seven on a different mission but then realized Zabuza is one of my favorite characters. **

**I have two exams next week then spring break, so I won't update for two weeks at least. Luckily I'm not driving on spring break so I will probably have some time to work over it.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The life and times of a dirty bridge builder

Naruto shot wary glances into the woods. They had decided against redeploying the shadow clone patrols in an effort conserve strength and reduce their chance of exposure. Kakashi hoped after changing routes they would be able to slip past their hunters quietly. The rational part of Naruto's mind agreed it was a sound decision, but not having the normal screen of clones was nerve wracking.

He knew their opponents were out there, hunting them down. The less rational part of his mind was screaming at him. He shot a couple nervous glances into the woods and out into the water, looking for any disturbance; he somehow knew, despite Kakashi's plans, they weren't going to dodge this fight. He took a deep breath and readied himself, 'Its coming, a confrontation with a jounin. We can't hesitate if we want to survive.' Naruto took another breath and used ANBU sign language to pass a message on to Sakura and Sasuke, "_Its coming, I can feel it_."

Kakashi sent Naruto a dirty look, but the two other members of team seven nodded in confirmation. When Sakura saw a flicker of movement in the bushes she sent a pair of shuriken towards the disturbance. Her teammates followed her lead without hesitation and sent their own kunai towards her target a fraction of a second later. Tazuna shouted in surprise, "What is it?"

When he saw a white rabbit run from the bush, flushed out by team seven's sudden assault, Tazuna muttered, "Damn brats scaring the crap out of me." His guards weren't listening; Sakura took one look at the rabbit's white fur and quickly signed her conclusion, "_Substitution, Enemies here._"

Kakashi nodded confirmation and said, "Protect the client." Then he heard a sudden rush of air and shouted, "Down!"

Sasuke was moving before Kakashi gave the warning. He caught Tazuna in a running tackle moments before a sword spun through the air where the bridge builder had been standing. Sasuke looked up in time to watch the sword cut half way into a the trunk of a tree. He suppressed a shudder at the thought of what it would have done to him had be been slow and palmed a pair of kunai before rising.

When Naruto recognized the sword he had to suppress a shiver of fear. When a tall and muscular man with pale skin appeared atop the sword the shiver redoubled. He cursed, "Zabuza Momochi."

Zabuza spent a moment looking down at the genin like they were trash before dismissing them entirely, "Sharingan Kakashi...Sorry but the old man is mine."

Kakashi looked at the members of team seven as he quickly threw together a battle plan. He finally announced, "This one is on another level. Protect Tazuna and stay out of the fight." Kakashi pulled off his forehead protector and met Zabuza's hateful stare with a sharingan eye before saying, "Zabuza, first fight me."

Zabuza gave them a spiteful chuckle, "The famous sharingan eye already..." Zabuza suddenly vanished from his perch and reappeared on the surface of the water before shouting, "I'm honored! But now the time for talking is over. Time to die old man!" He gestured and commanded, **Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique**. Zabuza gave team seven an unwholesome grin before vanishing into the rapidly thickening mist.

Soon it felt as though they were locked in an endless white world and a menacing voice called out, "Eight Choices..." Sasuke and Naruto replied by sending a few kunai towards the source of the sound. Sakura stared towards where they had thrown, trying to look through the mist. Team seven jerked around when a chuckle rang out from another direction. From a third direction Zabuza called out, "Liver, Lungs, Spine, Clavicle Vein, Neck, Brain, Kidneys, Heart."

Naruto knew Zabuza was playing mind games with them, but when they were combined with the overwhelming pressure filling the clearing it was mind numbing. He couldn't help but shiver in fear when the killing intent spiked and Zabuza asked, "Which one should I go for first?"

He was desperate, he wanted to lash out into the mist or run from the pressure before he died when Danzo's voice rang out in his mind, 'To ninja, emotions are a weapon!'

Naruto chucked weakly and muttered, "That's right. This fear won't help me kill you." He snarled and proclaimed, "So I'll just throw it away!"

Sakura gathered herself and added, "Danzo-sensei taught us better."

A twisted smile spread across Sasuke's face, "He would be ashamed if we cowered before such a small thing." He banished the last of his fear and shouted into the mist, "Come out so we can kill you."

Zabuza's voice whispered behind the three of them, "We will see about that brats." Naruto felt the sudden change in pressure as Zabuza swung his massive sword. He dove forward, trying to get between Zabuza and Tazuna, but he wasn't fast enough. Naruto saw the misty shadow of the blade cut towards Tazuna's heart only to stop inches short when Kakashi appeared inside of Zabuza's guard and slammed a kunai into his chest.

The swing faltered and for a moment the members of team seven stared as Zabuza bled out. Then the Zabuza impaled on Kakashi's kunai exploded into a spray of water. The spray caught the team off guard and they instinctively brought their hands up to shield their eyes, just as another Zabuza struck at Kakashi from behind.

Sasuke realized their error and tried to force Zabuza to divert the blow with a thrown kunai, but the mist ninja just let the kunai impact on his arm to minimal effect as he cut Kakashi apart. When Kakashi exploded into another spray of water the team was prepared. Naruto used the distraction to draw a kunai and step into a guard between Zabuza and Sasuke. Sakura suppressed smile when she heard another figure moving int the mist and fell into formation behind her teammates and started snapping off hand signs.

Zabuza looked at their formation and gave them a mocking grin before raising his massive blade into a high guard. Only to freeze a second later when Kakashi appeared out of the mist behind him and commanded, "Don't move!"

The swordsman gave them another mocking chuckle and asked, "You copied the water clone in this mist? That eye is better than I thought. I'll be sure to take it from your corpse."

Kakashi brought his kunai against Zabuza's neck and said, "It's over."

Zabuza started laughing even harder. "It's over? You don't get it do you? No matter how good your eyesight is, your just a monkey copying your betters." After it's final mocking retort the clone Kakashi held captive exploded into a shower of water. Kakashi jumped back to avoid the spray, right into the path of the real Zabuza's sword. Kakashi desperately twisted in the air and changed his path a moment before the sword would have cut him apart. He dodged the blade but was left hanging off balanced.

Zabuza saw the opportunity and capitalized on it with a vicious kick. Kakashi couldn't bring his guard up in time and caught the kick across his stomach. The force of the blow sent Kakashi helplessly tumbling across the clearing and into the water. Zabuza channeled chakra to his legs and sprinted after his opponent while snapping off hand signs.

Kakashi struggled to get out of the water, but before he could get clear Zabuza appeared behind him and struck his palm onto the water's surface and commanded **Water Style: Water Prison**. The water rose up around Kakashi, leaving him floating helplessly. Zabuza held the spherical prison and gloated, "Trying to escape the water was a big mistake." Zabuza looked at where team seven stood around Tazuna and said, "We can finish our fight later...but first I'll kill the old man and the brats."

Kakashi faked a worried expression and shouted at team seven, "Take Tazuna and run! He can't pursue you without breaking the prison!"

Zabuza fell for Kakashi's ruse and added, "Its all useless..." He made a one handed sign and commanded, **Water Style: Water Clone**. A single clone rose from the water in front of the prison and started mocking the genin, "He he, wearing those forehead protectors like your real ninja." The clone snorted dramatically and continued, "A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Only when you are good enough to be listed in my bingo book are you good enough to be called ninja." The clone gestured grandly and continued, "When I was your age these hands were already dyed in blood."

Kakashi suppressed a smirk and bought team seven more time to prepare by replying, "Devil Zabuza..."

The real Zabuza looked down at Kakashi and said, "Ah so you've heard a little about it."

"In the hidden mist village their was a final obstacle to becoming a ninja."

"You already know about the graduation exam?"

Naruto called out, "A fight to the death between students. Friends who had trained together and lived together, who shared dreams and helped each other were forced to fight until one of them managed to kill the other... A stupid waste of resources committed in the name of 'hardening' ninja."

Sakura picked up where he left off, "A ninja village expends an enormous amount of resources trying to raise a child into a ninja. Every time one of those ninja candidates fail to become ninja the village loses money. So every year the hidden mist village cut its profits by killing off potential ninja. This idiocy managed to go on until some stupid brat killed an entire graduating class."

A look of utter hatred spread across Zabuza's face and any pretense of frightening team seven vanished. The clone muttered, "Cocky brats." before vanishing.

It reappeared behind Naruto and drove its sword through his chest. Naruto looked calmly down at the blade protruding from him and said, "Some people just can't handle losing an argument."

Sasuke nodded at him and replied, "Well he fell for such an obvious genjutsu, he can't be very bright."

Sakura gave Sasuke a dirty look and said, "Excuse me?"

The real Zabuza canceled the genjutsu in time to hear Sasuke call out from the opposite side of the clearing, **Fire Style:Grand Fireball**.

Zabuza rolled his eyes as the fireball careened towards him and began to rapidly snap off his own one handed signs. He commanded **Water Style: Cannonball **and spat an equally sized ball of water towards the fireball.

A moment before they impacted Naruto shouted, **Wind Style: Gentle Breeze** and sent a gust of air to support the fireball. The fireball turned from bright orange to a dark barely visible blue in a moment then collided with the water in a dull thump. Zabuza's eyes shout wide open when he saw the water clone die instantly to the steam. He desperately jerked the water prison holding Kakashi in front of him as an impromptu shield before Naruto's wind drove the wave of superheated steam over him a second later.

The wave of steam hit the prison with a sharp hiss as water boiled away. When diverting the wave of steam occupied most of Zabuza's attention, a dozen copies of Naruto sprang out of the water around him. Several of the clones were destroyed by spare gusts of steam, but the rest managed to close. Zabuza grimaced and swung his sword with savage speed, deflecting the clone's kunai strikes. He cut one apart with an horizontal swipe and dismissed another by ramming the pommel of the sword into its gut.

Suddenly the world around Zabuza shifted and the clones vanished from his view. Now that he knew genjutsu were being used Zabuza broke the illusion with a mere thought, but the moment's concentration required left a small gap in his guard. A clone of Naruto seized the opportunity and drove a kunai towards Zabuza's heart. Zabuza did the only thing he could, he broke contact with the prison and jabbed his other arm through the clone's heart.

The rest of the clones died in seconds. Zabuza channeled a huge amount of chakra and snapped off hand signs as Kakashi rose from the water. He spared Kakashi a single glance before admitting, "Your brats are better than I thought." Then he finished the signs and commanded, **Water Style: Multiple Water Clone**. Zabuza announced, "It's too dangerous to fight you while they are still alive," before vanishing. Kakashi tried to pursue Zabuza, but the clones attacked suicidally, sacrificing themselves to buy Zabuza time. Kakashi was forced into a taijutsu fight. The clones took blows they could have avoided to keep the pressure up and prevent Kakashi from calling forth his own clones or dismissing them all with a wide area attack.

Zabuza went after Sakura first. Naruto tried to stay between her and Zabuza but didn't have the speed or the skill necessary. Within seconds Zabuza found an error in Naruto's guard and sent him plowing into the ground with a sharp kick. Sakura dove to the ground in time to dodge a thrust that would have disemboweled her. She tried to roll away from the mist ninja but he stomped down brutally on her chest before she could move.

Sakura wheezed desperate for air as Zabuza ground his foot into her. Sasuke shouted and sent a flying kick at Zabuza's head. Zabuza looked up at the genin with a bloodthirsty grin. The mist ninja twisted the sword as soon as Sasuke struck it and cut Sasuke's shoulder wide open before sending him flying across the clearing with a backhand. Zabuza grabbed Sakura by her hair and pulled her up; he looked into her bloody face and said, "Any last words you little brat."

She spat a bloody wad in his face and tried to drive her kunai into his chest. When he brought his sword in line to defend himself she hacked off her own hair before he could finish her off and fell gratefully to the ground. Zabuza looked down in time to see her bloody grin and hear her shout, "Release!" Zabuza screamed in pain as the explosive notes Sakura had planted when he was distracted by Sasuke tore his leg apart. Sakura tried to curse, it hadn't been enough. She saw Zabuza raise his sword and suddenly knew she was going to die.

Then a wave of Naruto clones were besides her. She watches as they desperately charged Zabuza and spent their lives keeping him away from her. She felt a sudden pressure on the collar of her jacket and whipped around to see another clone dragging her away from the mist ninja before running to join the fight. She tried to push herself up and help her team, but the ground was suddenly spinning. Sakura collapsed back on the ground unconscious.

Sasuke saw Sakura go down and suddenly the pain lancing through his shoulder became meaningless. He snarled and charged the wounded jounin again. He had to keep Zabuza away from Sakura long enough for Kakashi to aid them, no matter the cost. He struck as fast as he could jerking his wounded arm about in clumsy combos, desperately trying to keep the jounin on a defensive as Naruto and his clones tried to exploit the opening's he was creating. Zabuza swung his sword wildly trading a dozen minor wounds to kill off the clones, until he found the real Naruto.

The jounin's combinations were getting easier to read but Zabuza was too fast for Sasuke to exploit the suddenly clear openings. Zabuza raised the sword into a high guard and Naruto stepped inside his guard, eager to capitalize on the opening. Sasuke realized it was a feint a moment to late and shouted a warning just in time for Zabuza to bring the hilt of the sword down on Naruto's head. Sasuke jumped high and threw a few kunai at point blank range to delay the blow in time for the dazed Naruto to get clear.

Zabuza easily deflected the kunai with his sword and looked up at Sasuke. He faintly realized he had overextended himself in order to stop Zabuza from following up the blow to Naruto. Sasuke had a moment of perfect clarity to watch Zabuza's face twist into a cruel smile before the blade shot towards him at angle his wounded arm couldn't block. He could see the path of the blade and knew it would catch him between the second and third rib, destroying his left lung if it didn't kill him outright.

'Damn, I still haven't killed him...' Sasuke closed his eyes and heard the sound the sudden sound of roaring waves. A wall of water swept up Zabuza, Sasuke and Naruto and drove them into the ground. A strong hand pulled Sasuke from the water as he struggled for a breath of air. He opened his eyes and saw Kakashi holding him and Naruto as the water receded. Kakashi stared grimly at Zabuza, but before he could finish his foe a pair of senbon needles pierced Zabuza's neck.

Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi stared in disbelief at the masked newcomer for a moment. The newcomer bowed as if they didn't like the attention and said, "Thank you very much, I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

"Hunter ninja, correct?"

"Yes." The hunter ninja jumped down besides Zabuza's prone form. The ninja bowed again before saying, "Thank you, I must now dispose of the body." The hunter ninja threw Zabuza over their shoulder and vanished in a body-flicker.

Kakashi covered his eye and felt the sudden urge to lie down for a year or two as the adrenaline faded. He steadied himself enough to walk over to where Tazuna was hidden with a camouflaged tarp, guarded by a trio of Naruto clones. "Tazuna-san you can come out now." He turned around to see that Sakura had recovered enough to mumble instructions to Naruto while he bandaged Sasuke's shoulder. "It's … safe now."

The bridge builder emerged from the makeshift shelter the clones had created and said, "Umm, super thanks." He coughed awkwardly at the four very unappreciative glares he received.

"Tazuna-san we need to get to your home now." Kakashi stumbled back over to where team seven sat and said, "Great job. Sakura are you up to walking yet." When Sakura tried to rise and collapsed back to the ground Kakashi shook his head, "Naruto I need you to carry her, Sasuke is wounded and I am barely standing at the moment."

He nodded, "Captain."

Kakashi noticed a welcome change in one of his genin and thought, 'At least one good thing came out of this,' before saying, "Oh and congratulations on unlocking your sharingan Sasuke."

DTDTDTDTDT

Kakashi lit a small candle and ran a needle through the flame while Naruto helped Sasuke out of his jacket. The shirt underneath was matted with blood and stuck to Sasuke's pale skin. Sasuke grimaced and looked down at the ruined shirt before commanding, "Just cut it off."

Naruto pulled out a kunai and cut the shirt away from the wound. Kakashi examined the slowly bleeding cut and said, "Naruto can you bring me a bucket of water, I need to wash the debris out of this before I can stitch it." When Naruto got up to look for a pot Kakashi called after him, "Dissolve a couple iodine pills in the water before you bring it."

Naruto filled a pot he appropriated from Tazuna's daughter's kitchen and threw a few iodine pills in it. While he waited for the pills to dissolve, he walked to the empty room where Sakura was laying on a futon. She opened her eyes when he sat the pot of water on the floor nearby. She weakly asked, "How is Sasuke-kun?"

He sat down beside the pot and responded, "Once the iodine dissolves then the Captain and I will clean out his shoulder before stitching him up. It will be sore for a couple days and the blood loss isn't doing him any good, but he is still in better shape than you. That concussion of yours really scared us Sakura-chan."

"Thanks." She tried to sit up, but Naruto put a firm hand on her shoulder before she could move.

"What did we tell you about those ribs."

She blushed and muttered, "Yes, sir."

He looked over at the pot and said, "Well the iodine is dissolved now, I better bring the water in before Kakashi collapses from exhaustion and I have to take care off all three of you."

Naruto swirled the water in the pot, spreading around the dissolved iodine before carrying it to the bedroom where Kakashi and Sasuke were waiting. The wound looked a lot smaller when the dried blood was wiped away. It was a neat cut about six inches in length tracing outwards from Sasuke's collarbone to the end of his shoulder. Kakashi grinned at Sasuke and held up the needle and thread before joking, "Now you can scream like little girl if you want Sasuke, no one here will spread rumors about it until your listed in the bingo book as Sasuke of the girly squeal."

Sasuke did not appreciate the round of chuckles and gruffly told Naruto and Kakashi, "Just do it."

Kakashi nodded and stitched the wound together quickly. "Don't strain it for a couple of day's or the stitches will pop." Sasuke nodded and fished a new shirt out of his pack.

Naruto noticed Kakashi wavering a moment when he tried to stand and said, "Captain go ahead and sleep, Sasuke and I will keep an eye on Sakura and Tazuna." Kakashi opened his mouth but Naruto didn't give him an opening, "I know. We can worry about it tomorrow. Your useless in this state anyway."

Kakashi gave Naruto a weak smile and said, "I'll leave it up to you," before stumbling away to find a futon.

"Sasuke you might as well sleep for a bit as well, I can handle the first watch."

"Are you going to use-"

"It's only a couple hours, I shouldn't have to use stamina pills to stay awake. Plus that list of possible side effects scares me." Naruto smiled at Sasuke and added, "Make sure you speak to Sakura before you go to sleep, she was really worried." He waited for Sasuke to rise then said, "Well, I'm off to check on Tazuna-san."

When Naruto checked Tazuna, his daughter, Tsunami, and her son, Inari, were all still asleep. After a moments thought he made a quick patrol around the building and instructed a couple of his shadow clones hide in strategic locations nearby. He observed a moment longer before settling into a comfortable seat besides Sakura's sleeping form to wait out the night.

Naruto was startled from his half awake haze twelve hours later by a sudden shout of, "Naruto!" Naruto sent a half a dozen kunai towards the voice before he came fully awake.

Kakashi cursed and ducked beneath the sudden hail of kunai. He spared a glance at the weapons driven into the wall before saying, "There is a reason night watches are supposed to be four hours long."

Naruto scratched his head and gave Kakashi a sheepish grin. After a moment the grin faded and Naruto replied, "This too is a squad leaders responsibility."

"I am responsible for leading them into that fight, not you."

"I can't accept that." The sat quietly around Sakura's sleeping form until Naruto finally asked, "How do you deal with it?"

Before Kakashi could answer Sakura opened her eyes, "Captain? Naruto? What's going on?"

"The captain is just replacing me on watch so I can get some sleep. How are you doing Sakura-chan?"

"I'll be fine...my ribs are still sore but I don't think they are actually broken."

"That's good." Naruto blinked sleepily and added, "Hey captain can you wake me up for dinner?" Naruto didn't wait for a reply before stumbling off to the bed Kakashi had used the night before.

Sakura worried as she watched him go. When he was out of sight she turned to Kakashi and said, "Can you help me sit up?"

"Are you sure you're up to that?"

"I'm not an invalid." Kakashi opened his mouth then saw her determined expression. He instantly thought better of protesting and closed his mouth with a click. Kakashi slid his hands underneath Sakura's back and helped her into an upright position. Sakura grimaced in pain then said, "See I'm fine."

Sasuke called out from the stairs, "You look half dead."

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun. How's the shoulder?"

"It will hold until we get back to Kohona and I can have a medic look at it." Sasuke twisted the affected arm around and added, "That cream in the field kit took most of the soreness out of it, I should be recovered enough to use it in a week." He glanced about and asked, "So what are we doing today Captain?"

Kakashi frowned in thought a moment then decided against worrying the pair unnecessarily, "I'll escort Tazuna to the bridge today. Focus on recovering."

Tsunami was waiting in the kitchen with her father. She offered Kakashi a bowl of food when he entered and asked, "How are your students doing Kakashi-san?"

"Better than I feared, worse than I hoped...They would probably appreciate it if you brought them breakfast in a bit."

Sakura ate her breakfast quickly. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she had started on the rice. A moment later her bowl was sadly empty,. She wondered if the mix of disappointment and desire she felt explained how Naruto acted at a ramen stand. The thought sent a genuine smile spreading across her face. She talked with Sasuke about minor things until he finished his bowl also. When he finished his breakfast she worked up her courage and asked, "Umm, Sasuke-kun, can you help me cut my hair." She ran her hand through her pink hair for a moment and added, "I cut it during the fight and now its kind of …. lopsided."

Sasuke chuckled at Sakura as she blushed. He sat down behind her and asked, "How do you want it?"

"Just try to make it even." He moved behind her on the futon and pulled out a kunai. She didn't speak while he gently cut her hair until it hung in a loose bob just above her shoulders. The simple task was relaxing to both of them. Sasuke took his time and made sure he did a good job. When he was done Sakura pulled out a small signal mirror to examine her new haircut. She gave him a small smile and softly said, "Thanks." They both sat on the bed quietly for a moment; then Sasuke snapped his fingers and hopped up.

Sakura gave Sasuke a strange look as he rummaged through his bag. When she saw Sasuke pull out a set of Go pebbles she grinned and called out, "I'm white." They wasted the day trading strategies and trying out different combinations.

DTDTDTDTDT

After dinner the ninja gathered around the table with Tazuna and Tsunami. Kakashi gauged the resolve of the group and asked, "So did you notice Naruto?"

"The hunter ninja was a fake."

Tazuna sputtered, then shouted, "What do you mean!"

Naruto answered, "Hunter ninja are tasked with eliminating the enemies of a village and then destroying their remains so no one can learn from their corpse. The hunter ninja that appeared at the end of the fight with Zabuza disappeared with the body. And then there is the hunter ninja's choice of weapon."

Sasuke mumbled, "Senbon." His looked up and said, "Zabuza is alive."

"How can he be alive!"

Sakura answered Tazuna, "The major advantage of senbon over kunai and shuriken is their ability to precisely strike vital points. For a skilled user, putting someone into a state of suspended animation is not impossible."

"How long do we have."

Kakashi gestured for Sakura to explain. She nibbled on the end of her newly cut hair a moment before saying, "Putting someone in a state of false death is taxing on the body. Normally it would take upwards of a month to recover, but Zabuza is an experienced jounin. My guess would be ninety percent recovery in a week to a week in a half. Zabuza's leg wound is harder to gauge. If he has access to medical ninja then he should regain most of his mobility in a few days. Otherwise we have at least a week and a half probably two weeks."

"Thank you Sakura."

Tsunami asked, "So if you knew all of this...why did you let them go?"

"We were all exhausted when the hunter ninja intervened. If it had come to a fight we probably would have all died."

Tazuna recovered from his shock enough to ask, "So why did they run then?"

Naruto frowned and said, "They think their odds of success are greater after recovering and analyzing the battle."

"So what do we do now."

Naruto clasped his hands together in front of his mouth then said, "Prove them wrong."

Inari had listened to enough grandstanding, "Like that will happen!"

The three genin stared at Inari with blank expressions; finally Sakura asked, "Excuse me?"

"You foreigners should leave before Gatou has you all killed. You can't save this country. When facing the strong the weak will only end up getting killed."

Tsunami shouted at her son, "Inari that's enough!"

Sakura clamped down on Naruto's leg underneath the table before he could tear into the little brat and calmly said, "Inari we will win. People like us don't run."

Inari sobbed, "People like you!" His voice turned scornful, "I would hate to be like you. You people don't know anything but you are always clowning around and acting cheerful. You don't know how hard life can be."

Naruto clamped his hand over Sakura's and gave her a pained smile. Sakura turned to Sasuke and winced when she saw his borderline murderous expression. Sakura decided to come down hard on Inari before one of her teammates did something worse. "Inari you don't have a monopoly on suffering. Everyone has their own problems we don't want to listen to yours."

"You don't understand anything!"

Naruto's temper ran out. "Your the one who doesn't know anything brat. You think you have suffered? I know people who have watched their entire clan die. He didn't become a whining child." Sasuke gave Naruto a resentful look when Inari ran from the room. Naruto watched and muttered, "Try spending your childhood hated for something you can't understand."

Kakashi stood up and said, "I'll have a word with Inari."

Naruto forced a smile onto his face and said, "Sorry for dredging up your past."

Sasuke frowned a few seconds before finally muttering, "Accepted." He took another breath and visibly forced the subject from his thoughts before asking, "So what do you think about the up coming battle."

Naruto suppressed a sigh. He knew Sasuke wouldn't approve of what he had planned but he honestly thought it was the only way they could survive, "We need to convince the Captain to leave the confrontation with Zabuza to us."

"What." Sasuke looked at Naruto like he was insane. "Did that hit to your head make you forget how badly we got manhandled." He looked over at Sakura for support but instead of protesting she seemed lost in thought.

Naruto seized the gap in the conversation, "If we had not been present who would have won the battle between Kakashi and Zabuza?"

"...Zabuza."

"I wish you would have more faith in me." Kakashi did not look amused. He gave Naruto a look that said 'explain now' before sitting back down at the table.

"I do have faith in you Captain." Naruto took a breath and continued, "The next confrontation with Zabuza will go in one of three ways. First Zabuza will confront us alone again. For us this would be an ideal situation, but it is extremely unlikely. Second Zabuza attacks us with his hunter ninja partner in tow, which I think is the most likely possibility. Third, Zabuza attacks in mass with other ninja hired by Gatou. I don't think this option is likely either, if Gatou had other ninja on his payroll I think he would have sent them when we were weakened after our fight with Zabuza."

"I agree, but that doesn't explain why I should let you fight Zabuza."

"We can only guess a few things about Zabuza's partner. That hunter ninja was young, maybe a few years older than us. Zabuza has been a missing ninja for almost six years now so either that hunter ninja is a defector or Zabuza is the one teaching his partner. In either case it is unlikely they are at Zabuza's level of power."

Sakura rubbed her forehead in frustration a moment then froze. A smile crept over her face and she said, "I see."

"That's nice Sakura, perhaps you would like to explain to the rest of us because Naruto is dancing around the point."

Naruto gave Kakashi a sheepish grin and gestured grandly for Sakura to begin. Sakura smiled at his antics and said, "Three rookie genin defeating a member of the seven swordsmen of the mist is impossible. Something like that just can't happen...But three rookie genin delaying a member of the seven swordsmen long enough to give their captain a crushing advantage? … That we can do."

Naruto picked up where she left off, "We know nothing about the hunter ninja. That makes them dangerous. Captain has the greatest range of skills, so he is best suited for quickly eliminating an unknown opponent. After the hunter ninja is removed then we try to create openings so the Captain can bring down Zabuza."

Sasuke finally broke into the conversation, "I don't like it, but it's less risky than anything else I can think up."

The three members of team seven met Kakashi's frown evenly. There was a long pause in conversation while he stared at them. He finally sighed and said, "Alright, I agree. We will do it your way Naruto." Kakashi waited for Naruto to nod grimly and continued, "Following this plan there are three places that can become a battlefield, this house, the bridge and the path between them. If we are going to do this we need to plan for a confrontation in any of them." They stayed at the table until they had hashed out a rough plan for every scenario they could imagine happening and a few they were sure could not happen.

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto walked through the woods outside of Tazuna's house. Sakura walked besides him, shivering briefly in the predawn air. When they found a clearing and stopped Sakura asked him, "Are you sure about this?"

"Fighting in the mist gives Zabuza a huge advantage; we have to neutralize it."

"I still don't understand why Kakashi and you were against just blowing the mist away. You have more chakra than anyone I know. You should be eager to turn it into a battle of attrition."

"The problem isn't capacity it's efficiency. I'm almost certain I have more chakra than Zabuza, but he's so much more efficient in his techniques that he would come out ahead in a battle of attrition. And overpowering the gentle breeze makes it leak chakra like a sieve, even by my standards. So your going to look through the technique scrolls Danzo gave you?"

Sakura shrugged. "The are supposed to cover a wide range of basic illusions, so hopefully I'll find something that can target Zabuza's hearing. Visual illusion's aren't going to cut it against him now that he knows to expect genjutsu."

"I'm just thankful that Danzo-sensei made you bring those scrolls in the first place."

"He thought I would get bored on a danger free escort mission." Naruto chuckled and after a moment Sakura joined in. "Speaking of Danzo-sensei, are you going to be okay? I know there is a reason he told you to limit how many clones you make, even if you won't tell the reason to the rest of us."

"I'll be fine. I'm more scared of Danzo-sensei's reaction to all of this than I am of abusing the shadow clone." Sakura nodded and sat her pack down besides a tree before finding a comfortable seat. She pulled open the first of the technique scrolls and started reading through the skill descriptions.

Naruto took a deep breath and made a hand sign. He carefully gathered the vast majority of his chakra and carefully molded it into a sphere of mental energy surrounded by a thick layer of physical energy. Every time he took his time and carefully worked through the technique he became a little more efficient. The sphere divided into two spheres of exactly equal size. Then they divided again. By the eighth division sweat was running down Naruto's face. After a final division he focused and released the carefully constructed chakra spheres with a command of **Mass Shadow Clone**.

Over five hundred copies of Naruto cover the clearing a moment later. Sakura dropped the scroll she was holding and stared open mouthed. "That's incredible."

The real Naruto scratched the back of his head and said, "Thanks Sakura-chan!" He turned back to the clones and shouted so they could all hear him. "Everyone needs to blindfold themselves! After that spread out in the woods around here and try to eliminate each other. If you haven't been dismissed by lunch come back to the clearing so I can dismiss you. Get to it!"

The reply was a deafening roar of, "Yes boss!"

Naruto sat down in the middle of the clearing a few feet from where Sakura was studying and crossed his legs. He closed his eyes and fell into the breathing pattern that Danzo-sensei had taught him. He cleared his mind and tried to mentally prepare himself for the onrush of memories. He had barely started to meditate when the memories of the first clone slammed into him.

The first clone had decided to take to the treetops and let the competition thin out. Unfortunately it had missed the branch it had meant to perch on and took a bad tumble back to the ground. Another memory assaulted Naruto, this clone had noticed the kunai hurtling towards it's back a moment to late. Naruto died in hundreds of different ways over the next four hours.

The last of his clones had outlived their competition by being crafty. He had memories of waiting hours barely drawing breath for fear of noise while waiting for the sound of battle nearby. Then sending a kunai into the back of both combatants. That clone had been dismissed by another using the same method to hunt him down. Another clone gave him hours of experience stalking a foe while staying carefully downwind. That clone had preferred to finish his foes with a stab in the back.

Naruto looked up sharply. The last few clone's memories had been strange. The memories were full of little flashes of light. Naruto felt a pounding headache gathering and wondered if the strange memories were the result of using shadow clone past the limits his brain could handle. He scratched his head and decided that strange flashes were a great deal better than giving himself a stroke. He took a deep breath and reflected on the memories before deciding he needed to force the clones to practice close combat while blindfolded next time.

Sakura saw him move and looked up from her scrolls. She hopped up and stretched before asking, "How did it go?"

Naruto jumped up and hugged her, "Sakura-chan, it seems like it's been ages since I saw you!"

Sakura smiled awkwardly a moment before saying, "Umm, Naruto..."

"Oh, Sorry!" He jerked his hands back to his sides and continued, "So how is your work on those scrolls going?" He scratched the back of his head and said, "I bet you've mastered them all by now Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto, it's been six hours."

"Oh, right." He paused for a moment to think then said, "So have you finished reading through the scrolls yet?"

"I finished reading most of the descriptions. Most of the genjutsu that target senses other than sight are way out of my ability range at the moment. I have found a grand total of one that targets hearing and one that makes you feel like your on fire."

"So what is the one that target's hearing?"

"It's a C-rank called ghost step. It can be used the make the target hear the sound of footsteps from any point in a hundred meter circle. Danzo-sensei recommended using it to fake a pursuit group, but I think we can adapt it to use in low visibility combat." She shook her head and added, "Its a little more chakra intensive than I normally use, but I should be able to handle the strain long enough."

Naruto frowned but admitted, "One way or another our next fight against Zabuza is going to be short." He forced a smile back on to his face and asked, "Do you think Sasuke and Kakashi are doing better than us?"

DTDTDTDTDT

Sasuke was done wondering if the captain was insane; now he knew it. A sword plunged out of the mist trying to separate his head from his shoulders and Sasuke hit the dirt in a desperate dive. A soon as he heard the sword swing over his head he started rolling to the side. A second later a blade of ultra compacted earth dug a trench where he had been lying.

Sasuke sent a half dozen shuriken through the thick mist towards where he thought Kakashi was before channeling a burst of chakra into his right hand. His chakra reinforced push sent him airborne just in time to dodge another deadly thrust from the sword. His sharingan picked up a massive surge of chakra behind the constant camouflage of the mist a moment before he heard Kakashi command, **Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique**. Sasuke had time to shout in disbelief before a huge maw of water appeared out of the mist and consumed him.

The dragon slammed Sasuke back into the ground. Sasuke gagged underneath the huge pressure of the water for a moment. Then it was gone and Kakashi was fishing him out as the water quickly receded to the nearby lake. Kakashi dropped the furiously coughing Sasuke to the ground when the last of the water drained. After Sasuke gagged up most of the water he had swallowed, he tried to give Kakashi a dirty look, but it only made Kakashi chuckle. He kept it up until Kakashi finally said, "With the wet clothes you just look petulant. Now what are the five weaknesses of the sharingan?"

Sasuke pushed himself off the ground and brushed some of the muck off of his pants before demanding, "What was the water dragon for?"

Kakashi's smile drew into a thin line. "As team seven's mid ranged specialist it is your responsibility to counter enemy ninjutsu. By the end of the week I intend for you to copy a few earth techniques, but first what are the five weaknesses of the sharingan?"

Sasuke suppressed an irritated grunt and repeated the lesson Kakashi had given him the day before, "The first weakness of the sharingan is that it relies on my eyesight. If I can't see it the sharingan is useless. The second weakness is that seeing something doesn't magically give me the ability to counter it. Even if a sharingan user can see through attacks the eye can't help them if they lack the speed or chakra necessary to react. The third weakness is that copied techniques are duplicated exactly which includes poor control or someone overpowering a technique. A sharingan user must spend weeks reconstructing a copied technique to gain the degree of versatility that is expected out of a ninja. The fourth weakness is chakra cost." Sasuke paused and his face colored a bit. "And The fifth weakness is over confidence. The sharingan is just a tool, it doesn't make you a better ninja. Which you just had to demonstrate."

Kakashi smiled like there wasn't a thing wrong in the world and asked, "So how much of the sword technique did your eye catch through all of the mist?"

Sasuke took a deep breath and focused on recovering his emotional balance. When he succeeded he mentally reviewed the trashing that Kakashi had given him. Kakashi calmly waited until Sasuke finally said, "Not enough." Sasuke pushed his wet hair out of his eyes and asked, "What earth techniques were you thinking of letting me copy?"

Kakashi gave Sasuke an infuriating smile before saying, "Let's go through another round without the mist, then we can start breaking down Zabuza's style and start discussing countermeasures to his common movements." Sasuke turned on his sharingan in time to catch Kakashi run through a dozen hand signs and slam his hands into the earth. Kakashi whispered **Earth Style: Earth Compaction Sword**. Before drawing a rough approximate of Zabuza's sword from the ground. It wasn't as sharp or as durable as the real thing but it was more than enough to send an involuntary shiver down Sasuke's spine.

Kakashi snapped the blade into a horizontal guard with one hand. He waited a moment for Sasuke to fall into his own guard before exploding into action. Sasuke took a half step to the side in time to avoid being gutted and reapplied the tree walking exercise to attach his palm to the makeshift sword in the moments pause at the end of the thrust. He rode the blade through the horizontal swipe a fraction of second later and barely canceled the attachment to the blade in time to avoid being pulled into a palm strike.

After he saw his ruse had failed Kakashi launched into a series of lightning quick thrusts and slashes that Sasuke barely kept away from. The spar soon reverted to a chase as Sasuke tried to gain some distance and Kakashi pressed his advantage using the huge range that Zabuza's sword afforded. When Sasuke made the mistake of going airborne again Kakashi's face twisted into a big smile and he rapidly snapped through six hand signs and commanded, **Water Style: Cannonball**. Kakashi spat a huge missile of water that hurtled towards Sasuke.

Kakashi had to suppress a grin when he saw Sasuke snap through the same hand signs that he had just used. Sasuke vomited an equally huge missile of water a moment before Kakashi's cannonball would have hit him. The two water jutsu smashed together with a huge bang and drenched the entire clearing with a heavy spray of water. Sasuke landed on the opposite side of the clearing and stilled his heavy breathing long enough to smile in satisfaction. The smile vanished a moment later when Kakashi's water clone dragged him underground until his head was only visible.

Kakashi pulled out his copy of Icha Icha Paradise and giggled, "Ah Sophita-chan what will you show me today?" before sitting down on the dry branch of a tree to wait while Sasuke figured out how to free himself.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura rolled over and mumbled, "Five more minutes mom," when someone shook her shoulder gently. A second later she remembered where she was and her eyes snapped open. Standing over her was a beautiful boy with long black hair in a pink and purple kimono. Sakura's brain was running at a thousand miles per hour by the time she recovered from shock enough to ask, "Who are you?"

The boy blushed a bit and gestured to the small basket of herbs that was sitting on the ground besides them. "I'm gathering medicinal herbs."

Sakura hopped up from where she had been leaning against the tree. "Do you need help?"

The boy smiled and said, "That would be great." He blushed a bit more then added, "I'm Haku by the way."

"I'm Sakura." The hunted through the nearby weeds until the basket was brimming with the plants Haku needed.

When the basket was almost full they both sat down in the middle of the clearing and Haku asked, "So what are you doing out here anyway. Most people don't like to wander from the village."

Sakura struggled to find a way to answer that before giving too much away. She decided to keep it simple, "I'm training."

Sakura quietly nodded when Haku said, "That armor...you are a ninja?" Haku gave her an excited smile and said, "That's incredible!" Sakura felt her face heat up in a luminescent blush as Haku complemented her. "So why are you training."

"I want … I need to become stronger."

"But you look so strong already."

Sakura felt her cheeks heat again but grimly shook her head, "No there are people much stronger. I'm not nearly strong enough."

Haku's face turned grim a moment and he quietly asked, "Why is that?"

"I'm from a civilian family, there were a lot of people that didn't expect me to graduate from the academy. When I was younger they made fun of me a lot. I was almost ready to quit, until...someone I know ... stepped in and helped me. I need to get strong enough for that person to recognize that I'm not that crying girl anymore." Sakura's face tightened and she rambled, "...And there is someone else I want to take notice of me." Sakura's face turned bright red when she realized what she had said. "I'm sorry Haku-kun I didn't mean to give you my life story. I'm not a mopey person, really!"

Haku brushed off the remark and pressed his questions. "That strength, is it for yourself or someone else?" Sakura's eyes narrowed a moment as her brain linked several things together. He was out in the woods villagers didn't like. He had moved quietly enough to sneak up on her while she was sleeping and had somehow gotten through Naruto's perimeter of shadow clones. And he was asking a question that no civilian his age would ever ask. Haku quickly realized his misstep and changed the question. "Do you have someone important to you?"

Sakura forced a confused look on her face, it wasn't very hard if her suspicion was correct then she was incredibly confused why an enemy had gone through the effort of sneaking up on her to have a conversation. Haku thankfully misinterpreted the look. His face took on a wistful expression and his eyes were sad when said, "When a person have someone important to protect. That's when they can become truly strong."

Sakura was almost certain her guess was correct. Worse still, she wasn't confident she could beat Haku when they were already in close combat range while she was alone. She viciously wondered where Naruto had run off to, but managed to keep a thoughtful smile on her face. She played with her hair while thinking about her teammates for a moment before answering Haku. "I understand."

Haku looked up in the trees a moment before standing and grabbing his basket. He started walking from the clearing, but then stopped and called out to Sakura, "I'm sure you will become strong...Lets meet again somewhere."

Sakura's voice was unhappy when she said, "I'm sure we will."

Haku gave her a reassuring smile and started walking again. When he was at the edge of the clearing he called out, "Oh by the way...I'm a girl."

Sakura's brain shut down in protest. 'No way! But you're cuter than Sasuke-kun.' She sat on the forest floor with her mouth hanging open until she could hear someone chuckling in the branches of a nearby tree. It took a great deal of self control to not reach for her kunai pouch. She took a deep breath and shouted, "Naruto!"

He hopped from the branch where he had been watching Sakura and landed a few feet away from her on the clearing below. "Did you need something Sakura-chan?"

"How did that girl get through your perimeter?"

"Oh, I let her through."

Sakura's face was distinctly unamused. All sort of warning keys hung in the air when she asked "...Why?" in a very calm voice.

Naruto managed to miss all of them. He scratched the back of his head and said, "Because she was cute."

Naruto stopped scratching his head when a sudden wave of dread rolled over him. A second Naruto was rolling on the ground clutching his head and Sakura felt a great deal better. Naruto finally recovered enough to protest, "I thought we weren't allowed to fight."

Sakura answered in a sweet voice that sent all sorts of shivers down his spine, "This wasn't fighting. It was … unannounced ambush training." The both tried to keep their faces straight for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. They both had big smiles on their faces when Sakura recovered enough to ask, "Was that who I think it was?"

"If you think it was Zabuza's hunter ninja then your probably right. At the very least she isn't a civilian. I'm certain she knew I was watching her from the branches." Naruto's head jerked a moment, "She just destroyed the shadow clone I had trailing her, so much for finding Zabuza that way." He sat down beside Sakura and asked, "So what do you think?"

"We probably should have confronted her."

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not sure we could have won. Its better to stick to the plan."

Sakura sighed. "I guess. So she fights for Zabuza because of loyalty. How do we use that to our advantage."

"I'll leave it up to you."

Before Naruto could hop onto another tree Sakura asked, "Have the flashes gotten any better."

"The flashes are coming even when I'm not meditating now, but they stopped interfering with my vision. Its like I'm discovering another sense or something. At least I am fairly sure that abusing the mass shadow clone technique isn't the cause anymore, but I just can't figure out what is going on."

"You need to tell the Captain."

"I can't afford to be pull off duty because of medical reasons, we're out of time."

They both sat quietly unwilling to argue the point again. Naruto broke the silence first. "So did you master the ghost step?"

Sakura nodded. "I had it done yesterday, I'm going to spend whatever time we have left working on control and capacity." She started to play with her hair. "So how is trapping our battlefield going?"

A huge grin spread over Naruto's face and he boasted, "Give me an hour and I'm good. A day and I'm great. With a week I'm unbeatable."

**Author's Notes:**

**There are a couple of reasons this chapter ended up shorter than what I normally write. First I got distracted during a trip to Harry Potter world during vacation and ended up writing the start of a Harry Potter fan fiction that I will probably post after I finish editing it. Second I was really unsatisfied with how the final Zabuza fight was written so I decided to rewrite it, but didn't want to delay posting the whole chapter since its already a few days late. **

**I found team seven calling out the bloody mists policy as stupid really funny. It will be even better if they include it on their mission report to Danzo.**

**Not sure if its really in character for Kakashi to let team seven pick a fight with Zabuza, but I really didn't want to write a team seven versus Haku fight and the current setup makes at least some sense. Remember in this story they saw Kakashi get trapped and then were able to wound the real Zabuza before Kakashi saved them. Given that display, from Kakashi's point of view it is reasonable for them to hold Zabuza off for a few minutes while he crushes Haku.**

**Danzo is going to be incredibly irritated with team seven and Kakashi when he hears what went on during this mission. **

**Writing the Haku is a girl scene was pretty amusing since as far as I'm concerned not even Haku knows Haku's gender. Also a bit of a shout out to the abridged version of Naruto.**

**After the wave arc there is going to be a brief Danzo's response arc which will include some training and maybe a normal c-rank as the conclusion. That will probably be chapter 4 and 5. The chunin exams arc will follow that. Expect the next chapter in two weeks or so.**

**I'm looking for a beta since I realized I'm terrible at editing. Please pm me if you are interested.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	6. Chapter 5

Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi surrounded Tazuna in a tight triangular formation as they walked to the bridge. The formation fell apart as soon as they saw the workers corpses. Sakura and Sasuke stood aimlessly on the bridge while Tazuna rushed to the side of one of his workers. Kakashi stood apart from the others, waiting for the attack to commence.

He was not disappointed. A heavy bank of fog swept over the side of the bridge a few moments later. Kakashi waited for Zabuza and Haku to appear from their hiding place before screaming, "Its Zabuza! Run!" Sasuke grabbed Tazuna and sprinted towards the side of the bridge with Sakura right on his tail. Kakashi threw a pair of kunai with explosive tags tied on them towards Zabuza as the first water clones rose from the puddles on the bridge. The explosions only bought them a second but it was enough for Sasuke to leap from the edge of the bridge with Tazuna in tow. Zabuza sprinted after them quickly gaining ground.

Kakashi waited for Zabuza to leap before intercepting his partners attempt to follow. He sent her flying down the length of the bridge with an abrupt kick she barely blocked. He muttered, "Where do you think your going," before sprinting after her. She ducked underneath a thrust from his kunai and rolled away while drawing her own kunai before retaliating. She lunged at Kakashi trying to attack his legs, but he contemptuously brought his kunai down and caught her attack before snapping a kick into the side of her face.

Her mask cracked and little chips fell away. She clawed the rest of it off a second later and spat out a little bit of blood. "So strong, but is it okay to leave Zabuza-san free like this?." Kakashi gave her an enigmatic smile. She abruptly realized what her foes plan was and said, "I see, then I just have to hold you off for as long as possible." Kakashi was too far away to react in time when she made a single sign and commanded **Ice Style: Demonic Ice Mirrors**.

Twenty one rectangles of ice instantly grew around them. Haku faded into the closest mirror and her reflection instantly appeared on the other mirrors. Even Kakashi was barely prepared for the brutality of the next attack. A storm of senbon needles clouded the air around him as he desperately rolled and deflected. Kakashi signed while he was moving, and tried to sink into the bridge only to find himself rebuffed by an intense painful cold. Haku gave him a little smile after his failure and mocked, "No one has ever defeated this technique, not even Zabuza-san."

"This might be a bit more difficult than I thought." Another hail of senbon struck out from the mirrors and Kakashi desperately pulled the blindfold off his sharingan while dodging. The entire dome of ice light up to his borrowed eye. The reason he couldn't escape into the bridge became apparent immediately. Haku had either deliberately or unknowingly infused the entire bridge with ice chakra when she had anchored her mirrors. He shook his head in irritation. 'This technique is much more dangerous than I thought.'

DTDTDTDTDT

Tazuna stumbled through a clearing by a huge calm lake as the sun was slowly blotted out by the mist. He suppressed a smile and thought, 'Right by the lake, as we thought,' before tripping on his own feet. Suddenly Zabuza was standing above him. When he heard the missing ninja taunt "Time to die old man." a very uncharacteristic grin spread over his face. The blade swung down and then Tazuna was replaced by a lunging Naruto in a puff of smoke. In that same second Sasuke went for Zabuza's unprotected back. Zabuza snapped his sword into a quick guard against the surprise attack from behind and snapped a kick towards Naruto's face.

Naruto quickly stepped back out of range. The quick clash had been enough for him to confirm that Zabuza was favoring one leg over the other. He hadn't had enough time to recover from Sakura's surprise during their last fight. He looked over at Sasuke and he grimly nodded back. They both had reached the same conclusion; their best chance lay in exploiting his wound.

The three started circled each other, each barely visible through the mist. Zabuza broke the silence, "I checked for illusions at the bridge... So tell me kid when did you substitute for the real one?"

Naruto shrugged and decided to waste as much time as he could talking. "Tazuna never left the bridge."

Zabuza frowned a moment then smirked. "Very clever... too bad its all useless."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at Zabuza, "Oh, don't you think your partner is a bit late?"

Zabuza gave him a distinctively creepy chuckle then said, "Despite your suicidal overconfidence your plan is obvious enough. She will wear out Kakashi enough to be easy picking once I'm done with you all." He looked around through the mist, "By the way where is pinky? I've been looking forward to meeting her again."

Naruto smirked at him, "Is your leg still sore?"

"I've been told it will feel much better when I bathe it in her blood."

"You should find another doctor." Sasuke deadpanned.

Neither of them reacted to Zabuza's unnerving chuckle. "You kids are fun." The mist thickened until Naruto couldn't see anything and they all exploded into action. Naruto heard the small shifting noise of gravel on hard packed earth and felt the slight wind of Zabuza's sword. He took a half step backwards before a sword slash parted the mist in front of him. Zabuza guarded against his counter thrust with the flat of the blade and barely had time to duck underneath a slash from Sasuke.

Zabuza had an eager almost happy expression on his face as he cut at them. Suddenly he jumped into the air an commanded **Water Style: Cannonball**. Both Naruto and Sasuke were long gone by the time the giant ball of water hit.

Two hundred yards away a clone heard the sounds of battle and grinned. He ran along the makeshift dam Naruto had spent days constructing and kicked out the supports before dismissing himself. The real Naruto grinned when he received the memories; his clone had timed stage one perfectly.

The mist thinned as Naruto heard Zabuza land on the water. Sasuke saw a very familiar surge of chakra and was already signing when he heard Zabuza commanded **Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique**. Sasuke finished a fraction of a second later and slammed his hands into the ground before commanding **Earth Style: Earth Compaction Sword**. He screamed, "Naruto!" before pulling a clone of Zabuza's sword from the ground and throwing it in the air.

Naruto channeled chakra and jumped after the blade as soon as he realized what was going on. The dragon broke through the mist in front of him as his hands wrapped around the sword. Naruto screamed and swung the sword as hard as he could while his momentum drove him into the dragon's head.

The dragon opened its mouth to swallow him whole, but wavered half way through the motion when the water source supporting it abruptly went dry. A heartbeat later a grinning Naruto slashed its head apart. The water dragon exploded into a shower of water as Naruto landed. He looked through the clearing mist at where Zabuza was standing in the muddy bed of a drained lake and snapped his sword in a mock salute before shouting at the top of his lungs, "Dragon slayer! Believe it!"

He barely had time to jump out of the way when a trio of senbon needles cut through the mist. Naruto indignantly shouted through the mist, "Are you crazy! That could have killed me."

A bloody Haku with the pieces of a broken mask tucked into her belt walked out of the mist and said, "That was the point." She turned to Zabuza and added, "Sharingan Kakashi is dead Zabuza-san."

"No way! You're lying!"

Haku tossed a bloody leaf forehead protector to Zabuza before telling Naruto, "Its your fault he died. He was so focused about coming to protect you he didn't pay attention to our fight." Naruto's face twisted between horror and rage until he finally screamed and charged Zabuza. Haku moved to intercept him but was blocked off by Sasuke.

The mist thickened again as they paired off. Sakura irritably brushed her hair out of her eyes and leaned back in the hiding place that Naruto had built for her when her teammate's vanished completely into the mist. She rummaged through her hip pouch until she found a solider pill and forced herself to chew the bitter thing. She swallowed and waited for the sudden surge of energy before carefully gathering the chakra for her second illusion without disturbing the first one. Fourteen hand signs later she whispered **Genjutsu: Ghost Step** and began the end of stage two.

Zabuza reacted to the footstep behind him with a sharp reverse jab. Naruto and Sasuke reacted to the expected opening instantly. Zabuza barely blocked Naruto's kunai thrust towards his chest while Haku appeared by his shoulder to intercept Sasuke's attack. Zabuza barely had time to widen his eyes when the kunai went through her guard like she didn't exist and drove deep into his arm.

Sasuke narrowly avoided decapitation by desperately rolling out of the way. The melee broke apart as Zabuza took a disgusted look at his immobile arm. He called out loudly, "Using a real forehead protector and senbon to enhance the quality of your illusion was clever pinkie. How did you know I would check the protector and not your illusionary Haku?"

They had hoped the mist would degrade his ability to pierce visual illusions at a range, but Sakura wasn't about to give away her hiding place to tell him that. Naruto was close enough to pick out Sasuke signing through the mist, _"Stage three?"_ Naruto spent a fraction of a second wondering where Kakashi was and worrying that they were almost out of tricks before pushing the doubts from his mind. He nodded back at Sasuke and they wordlessly charged Zabuza.

DTDTDTDTDT

Kakashi cursed at himself, he should have tried harder to end the match when it was still a taijutsu fight. He couldn't afford to waste charka against the small fry but wasting time was just as bad. Another hail of senbon struck out at him, but with his sharingan exposed it wasn't even a challenge to deflect them all. She quirked an eyebrow at him, "It seems we are at a stalemate."

It hung unsaid that a stalemate was her victory. Then Kakashi made a decision and the strongest non elemental armor piercing attack he knew spiraled to life in his hand. Haku had time to widen her eyes before the rasengan tore the mirror she was in to pieces.

She tried to flee to another mirror but was already caught in the gaze of Kakashi's rapidly spinning sharingan. He whispered **Genjustu: Forced Sleep Imprisonment** as Haku fell to her knees and brought her hands together in a ram sign, desperately trying to break the illusion. Despite her efforts the color slowly leeched from her vision. Soon everything was gray except Kakashi's red spinning eye. A moment later she slumped to the ground unconscious. The mirrors broke apart around them while Kakashi repositioned her. He slammed his hands on the bridge near her head and commanded **Earth Style: Chakra Eater Shackles**. A dozen brittle chains of stone reach out of the ground around her and lock together on top of her in a complex design. He quickly cut four seals in the bridge with his kunai then brought his hands to his mouth and blew out a stream of chakra laced air and said **Wind Style: Heavy Air Prison Sphere**.

Kakashi pulled his forehead protector back over his sharingan and made sure he had set up Itachi's hostile imprisonment method correctly. The genjustu would keep her under until the earth technique robbed her of her chakra and the wind technique would prevent the drained girl from breaking the fragile shackles after the genjutsu wore off. She was helpless until either someone made a counter seal to the heavy air prison or had enough chakra to disrupt it. The small trickle of stolen chakra he felt flowing into him was just a fringe benefit.

He walked over to the side of the bridge and leaped down to the waters surface where a soaked Tazuna was hanging onto a rope ladder and said, "I'll take you to the shelter now."

"Super."

DTDTDTDTDT

Zabuza's counter attacks lacked the wild movements that he had displayed before. Every attack was perfect, without any excess movement and his face didn't show any emotion at all as he tried to cut them apart. Through the haze of adrenaline Naruto dimly realized that they were finally fighting the real Zabuza, the man who had murdered hundreds without hesitation or regret. They were fighting a jounin of the hidden mist that was holding nothing back and they were totally out of their league. Naruto had trouble not shivering when he reached the conclusion that Zabuza's arm wound was the only reason they hadn't already died.

Zabuza pursued them as they slowly gave ground. By the time they finally maneuvered into the right position Naruto and Sasuke were sporting a dozen minor slashes. Then hidden clones burst from the ground around them and leap at Zabuza. He didn't even flinch and contemptuously cut them apart before returning his attention to Sasuke and Naruto. But that moment of distraction was enough for Sasuke to get off the twelve hand signs he needed. He felt every scrap of chakra he had being drawn in by the technique and slammed his hands on the ground, commanding **Earth Style: Tearing Earth Turning Palm**.

The clearing was devastated, hundreds of cracks spread out in giant pattern while great slabs of earth reared out of the ground. Naruto had time to see Zabuza stumble for footing before he felt Sasuke's hand on his collar. Sasuke whispered **Earth Style: Underground Fish Projection Technique** before dragged them both underground. Naruto hated the silent cramped blackness of underground, but he didn't need to hear or see to know what was going on. The tearing earth palm had snapped all of the buried trigger wires connecting the hidden explosive notes. Right after they had gone underground every note had detonated at the same time and thrown a half dozen buried kunai or shuriken into the air. The flying shrapnel would turn the clearing into a butchering field.

The emerged slowly to a cratered moonscape. And Zabuza lay dying in the center with dozens of kunai and shuriken piercing his body. Naruto numbly guessed that without a supply of water Zabuza had been unable to defend himself against the onslaught. He started to walk over to the dying mist ninja when he felt a sudden pressure behind him. He started to move but was suddenly struck by the memories of a clone he had left to protect Tazuna's house. The next thing he knew was pain as Zabuza's sword thrust through the back of his ribcage, destroyed his right lung and popped out of his chest. The world seemed to move in slow motion while Naruto looked down at the blade sticking out of him with a faintly surprised expression. Then he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings when Zabuza pulled the sword free. Naruto barely had time to realize he was about to die before he hit the ground.

DTDTDTDTDT

Tazuna's house had turned into a battlefield. Naruto had left two pair of clones to look over a family, but when they were attacked a surprise blow destroyed the clone resting by the door before it had time to react. A pair of swordsmen walked threw their impromptu doorway. One had an eye patch, the other wore a stalking cap and both had huge sadistic smiles on their faces. The clones partner dove at the two samurai as the last two clones pulled Inari and Tsunami away from the fighting before they were seen. The Naruto clone kept his movements deliberately clumsy barely dodging the swordsmen's wild swings.

He waited for the prearranged signal, a crash of pots in the room over before allowing the samurai to catch him in a combination attack. The swordsman with the eye patch smiled smugly and said, "So much for the guards."

The pair of swordsmen stalked into the next room where Tsunami was desperately trying to pack their belongings. The one with the stocking cap shook is head in a scolding manner, "Tsk, if you hadn't been so greedy you might have gotten away." He looked at Tsunami and asked, "You Tazuna's daughter?"

Tsunami screamed and started running but a sword strike to the wall in front of her sent her flying backwards against the counter. The one with the eye patch said, "Sorry we can't have you running away."

"Mom?" Inari looked down at the wrecked kitchen from the stairs with a terrified expression.

"Run!"

The swordsmen looked at each other. After a moment the one with the eye patch asked, "Should we take him too?"

The one with the stocking cap replied, "We only need one hostage."

The reply brought a joyous smile to his partners face. He drew his long sword and licked the blade before asking, "...Then I can kill him?" Inari squeaked but couldn't run. Tears were running down his face as he waited to die.

"Wait! You want a hostage right? If you touch my son I'll kill myself."

The pair of mercenaries looked down at Tsunami a moment before the one with the stocking cap finally called up to Inari, "Thank your mother kid." Inari just kept crying.

The swordsman's partner cursed, "Damn, I wanted to cut him."

"You can cut something later, we're on a schedule here." The one with a stocking cap produced a length of rope from his pockets and the one with the eye patch dragged her off of the floor. They looped her hands together then ran the extra rope into a rough harness with a little leash leading out the back for one of the swordsmen to hold. Tsunami was mentally cursing them both and wondered where on earth they learned how to tie up a prisoner. Were they scared her breasts were going to run away or something? And there was no reason to have a rope in a couple of those places. It made walking incredibly uncomfortable.

As soon as the swordsmen lead her out of the house like a dog on a leash Inari stopped crying and broke into an evil grin. He canceled the transformation and walked back up the stairs to where the real Inari and Tsunami were sitting on the guest bed. Tsunami looked a bit distraught and Inari looked as though he was having fun pulling one over on the swordsmen. Naruto spent a second wonder just what Kakashi had told the kid before giving them a reassuring smile and said "I'm sorry for all of this. We didn't expect Gatou to be making his own plays." Tsunami opened her mouth to protest that they were just grateful, but the clone cut her off, "We need to move you to to where Tazuna is hiding and we need to do it quickly so I can dismiss. The boss needs to know what is going on."

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto woke up in a black hallway. All around him were pipes and doors leading into the dark. The ground was covered in an inch or two of water, just enough to run over the top of his sandals and wet his feet. He remembered how he had ended up in the unfamiliar hallway and resisted the urge to curse himself. He fell into a lotus position and tried to meditate a bit to help himself stay calm. Leaving clones with Tsunami and Inari had be the right choice even if it had come back to bite him in the rear. They didn't have the the resources to place a stronger guard and go through with their plan.

Suddenly a light like a red bonfire intruded on his mediation. Naruto grimaced and cursed abusing the shadow clone while waiting for the light to fade like it had all the times before. But this time it didn't. He waited for as long as his patience could hold out but the huge red light never faded. He eventually got bored and opened his eyes and started walking to where he could feel the light coming from. The hallway got wider as he walked and more pipes ran along the ceiling. Other lights seemed to start emanating from the pipes, shades of blue and white and the occasional purple, but they were nothing compared to the red light.

By the time he reached a huge open chamber he had almost perfected differentiating between the lights and his normal vision out of shear exposure. And then Naruto felt the sudden need to sit back down. The far end of the chamber was a huge gate that dwarfed even the village gates. It was incredibly ornate, like worked gold and had a huge sealing tag hanging on it. The passage behind the gate was cloaked in shadows his eyes couldn't pierce. But he could feel what was behind the gate. A maelstrom of red fire beyond everything he had ever seen.

Naruto gathered his courage and called out into the shadows, "Am I dead Kyubi?"

An awful rumbling laughter echoed around the room and the fox shifted in the shadows until Naruto could make its face out behind the gate. The fox's deep voice boomed out, "Kid...Come closer." Naruto kept Danzo-sensei's teachings in mind and banished his fear before walking to the gate with his head held high. When he stopped a few feet short of the gate the fox struck the cage's bars with a great screech and for a moment brilliant multicolored sparks lit up the whole chamber. Naruto gave the fox a small smile and said nothing. It stared at him through the bars until finally its deep voice rumbled out in an almost wistful tone, "I want to eat you. Just a morsel after so very long...But this seal..." It rumbled as though it had tasted something foul. "And you...you almost got us killed brat."

Naruto didn't even have to strain to smile. "Ah, so I'm not dead after all. No offense but I was going to complain if this was the afterlife."

Their was a sudden screeching as the Kyubi tested his claws against the cage bars again. Naruto's smile vanished and the Kyubi spent a moment staring at Naruto before saying, "I had to save your life brat...How are you going to repay that debt?"

Naruto thought for a moment then his grin was back in a flash of realization. He sat down in front of the cage doors and quietly asked, "You die too? Don't you?"

The kyubi's eyes snapped open in rage, "WHAT?" It pounded against the bars eager to devour the unmoving Naruto. Naruto waited for the fox to finally wear itself out battering against the walls of the cage. The Kyubi finally fell quiet for a moment before asking, "How?"

Naruto looked up at the ceiling of the chamber and said, "There are three real possibilities. One I die and you go free. If that happened then you would have never healed me. The second possibility is that you are still sealed in my body whether I'm living or not. Someone fiddling around with my body presents a greater chance of escape for you than the status quo, so you still wouldn't have healed me. The last possibility is that we both die together. That gives you a huge incentive to help me."

Naruto could feel the resigned hatred hanging in the air when the fox asked, "So what help do you want brat."

Naruto hopped to his feet and walked to the entrance of the chamber before turning and telling the fox, "I don't want anything from you." Naruto stepped outside the chamber and the water around him suddenly turned a dark red. Naruto had a moment to cry out in shock before the water lifted off of the floor and wrapped around him. The last thing he heard was Kyubi's rumbling mocking laughter and a booming voice say, "But I want something from you."

DTDTDTDTDT

Sasuke froze, horrified as Zabuza pulled his sword free and Naruto collapsed. He stared a moment denying the world around him as his fantasies of the future came crashing apart. Then he screamed in rage and pounced on Zabuza.

The melee that followed could only be described as brutal. Sasuke threw himself against the jounin in a flying tackle, using his body to drive the dozens of kunai and shuriken their last trap had stuck into the missing ninja deeper.

Zabuza planted his sword and held on for balance as he tried to get the insane Uchiha off of him. He finally managed to catch the enraged boy with an elbow to the temple, stunning Sasuke. Zabuza followed it up with a vicious stomp to the genin's ankle, breaking it. He pulled his sword free for a final blow when Sakura entered the fight.

Sakura stood and let the camouflage cloth of her hiding place fall about her unnoticed. Her eyes felt wet and hot, and fore the first time in her life she felt and overpowering desire to kill someone. She waited with hot eyes and a cold terrifying smile for the melee between Sasuke and Zabuza to give her the opening she needed. When Zabuza managed to send Sasuke to the ground she was already charging behind a trio of thrown kunai.

Zabuza started to duck underneath the kunai before he heard the tell tale sizzling of explosive tags. He jerked his sword up into an impromptu shield right before the tags detonated. Sakura sent another kunai into his kneecap at point blank range. He barely got his sword down in time to block it. Sakura watched the poorly executed guard and muttered, "Slow," before planting her leg and channeling the dredges of her chakra for an enhanced kick into Zabuza's face.

Zabuza caught it in the mouth and went tumbling across the clearing. Sakura took a look at where Sasuke lay on the ground clutching his broken ankle. He saw her glance and snarled before calling out the the missing ninja in labored breaths, "Its over Zabuza."

Zabuza spat out blood and forced himself back to his feet. His body was a mess of sweat mixing with the small rivulets of blood running from numerous shallow cuts and stab wounds. His voice was rough and wheezing. "Ha … you are … both out of … chakra. I just have … to finish you … and escape before … Kakashi."

Sakura drew her last kunai and croaked out a high tittering note between a giggle and a laugh. "Finish us? Escape? Who the hell do you think I am! I'm team seven's Sakura Haruno and you're just my prey, you little shit." Sakura and Zabuza crashed together in a storm of desperate blows. Sakura kept her movements minimal, striking for his weak side whenever possible. The blows forced Zabuza to move on his wounded leg and cover his useless arm. Sakura harried the exhausted ninja until he finally swung his heavy sword a bit too wide. Zabuza realized his mistake and muttered a curse while Sakura drove her kunai through his chest.

She kept pulling the kunai free and stabbing Zabuza over and over while Zabuza jerked about splashing her with blood. She didn't stop when the missing ninja finally collapsed and his eyes glazed over. She just kept yanking the blade free and pounding it home again while brokenly sobbing.

Naruto woke to a world of pain. He clutched at the hole in his side as it hissed and smoked. Then the pain subsided and he opened his eyes to a sight he would never forget. Sakura was on her knees besides the bloody remains of Zabuza frantically driving her kunai into the ninja's corpse over and over while crying.

Sakura had a brief moment to wonder if she was dying when the world around her suddenly turned red. The air felt almost liquid and very hot, like it had suddenly turned into bath water. Then a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and Naruto's voice called out, "Its okay now Sakura-chan. I'm here." Sakura froze, the twisted in his grip.

"Naruto!" She clung to him tightly for a moment then started sobbing again, "You idiot." He watched the strange red aura, the fox's chakra he numbly realized, faded and realized Sakura had started shaking. He felt incredibly awkward but despite Sakura's claims Naruto was not nearly stupid enough to let go of her, no matter how much he wanted to scratch the back of his head.

Then Sasuke dragged himself into his line of vision with a huge smirk. Naruto didn't let the opportunity pass him by and quickly asked, "So how are you, jerk?"

Sakura jerked around in his arms and shouted, "Sasuke-kun!" She ran back to the hole she had spent most of the fight hiding in and came back with materials for a splint and the team's medical kit.

Naruto watched as Sakura play doctor and devoutly hoped she didn't start asking questions about his own miraculous recovery. He was so distracted that Kakashi managed to get half way across the clearing before a flash of white hair drew his attention. He called out, "You're late cyclops."

Kakashi started chuckling awkwardly when the other members of team seven turned at once and started giving him very neutral looks. He scrunched his face up into a big, obviously fake smile for a moment then sighed and said, "Uh...Would you believe me if I said I got lost of the road of life?"

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura finished bandaging Sasuke, an effort that only ended when Kakashi decided to intervene before their entire medical supply was wasted. With his broken ankle Sasuke hadn't been able to run as Sakura covered him in layers of bandages. Naruto just sat on the dirt of the blasted clearing and tried to concentrate past the sudden overpowering exhaustion the fox's chakra had left behind. Naruto wanted to lay down but the squelch of someone walking through mud, the snapping of small sticks and a hundred other sounds interrupted him.

Naruto abruptly realized he had forgotten something important in the confusion and smacked his forehead before muttering an impressive stream of curses. Sakura gave him a questioning glance, but Kakashi's eyes were already fixed on the treeline. She looked at him then over at the trees in time to see a dwarf of a man dressed in a business suit laugh, "Well isn't this a sweet scene."

Thugs walked out behind him until the edge of the clearing was filled with every kind of mercenary and street tough. Naruto called out a clear, hateful tone. "Gatou." The dwarf leaned on his cane and shot the Ninja a mocking grin.

Gatou turned to one of the larger thugs besides him and said, "I do so hate sweet scenes." A round of rough chuckling spread through the thug ranks.

Naruto locked eyes with Gatou and killed the mirth with a cold voice, "We're not getting paid to kill you. Get lost before we decide to do charity work."

Gatou gave Naruto a smirk and leaned heavily on his cane a moment. Then he burst out in laughter. He finally recovered enough to mock Naruto, "Brat, what makes think you can talk to me in such a high and mighty manner? I'm the genius businessman who built a commercial empire from nothing, there isn't a lord or kage in this world who doesn't know my name, and when this land's hope collapses with their precious bridge ... I'll be the uncrowned king of Wave. And you...your just little bugs that I've already beaten." He gestured with his cane. "I heard of Tazuna's little plot against me within minutes of his departure. I could have hired a squad of jounin from any village to eliminate the pest, but I didn't. I hired Zabuza because I'm a business man. You see missing ninja are like trash, no one cares when you use them up then burn them. I hired him because afterwords I could kill him and collect his bounty."

Gatou's eyes locked onto Zabuza's corpse. "It was the perfect plan, but he didn't live up to his reputation. The devil of the hidden mist? What a joke...he lost to some idiot in a mask and a bunch of kids. And where's the other one? I guess his whore abandoned him … a pity … I wanted to pay her back for what she did to my arm."

Naruto forced himself to his feet and asked, "How are your chakra levels Sakura."

She pushed herself up and replied, "Completely empty. What about you?"

"Drained."

Kakashi gave them a small smile and said, "Mine are at about eighty percent."

An enormous wave of relief twisted his face into a matching grin, "I guess your not late after all, Captain."

Kakashi's smile got bigger, "Oh, _now_ its captain?"

An uneasy ripple went through the thugs. Gatou sensed the shifting mood and said, "Ah, going down fighting. What a noble sentiment, but you wouldn't want something unfortunate to happen to Tazuna's daughter would you?"

Naruto used ANBU sign language to circumspectly pass a message to Kakashi, _"Fake."_ He watched as a pair of thugs walked through the mob. They had the disguised clone on a leash behind them, and roughly yanked her out into the open. Naruto waited for the theatrics to finish before asking innocently, "Captain are we getting paid to protect her?"

"Nope."

Naruto's face twisted into a prankster's grin of its own accord. He drew a kunai slowly making sure every thug saw it. He threw it with a sudden flourish and shouted at the top of his lungs **Secret Ninja Skill: Body Disintegration Technique**. The kunai hit Tsunami dead center and for a split second her face twisted into a horrified grimace. Then when she exploded into a cloud of smoke every pair of eyes in Gatou's army went wide and more than a few jaws dropped. Naruto forced himself to keep steady through the sudden surge of incredibly awkward memories then drawled, "Next?"

Naruto had trouble not laughing when a few of the mercenaries towards the back of the horde bought his lie and discretely vanished into the woods. Unfortunately Gatou was not among those fooled. His face twisted into a snarl and he shouted, "It's a trick! Kill them!"

Whether the thugs saw through the trick or they were simply greedy the majority of the mercenaries charged in a flash of weapons. Naruto reached into his kunai pouch to find it was empty and cursed himself for not picking up a few of the blades laying around the clearing when he had the chance. He was wondering if he had time to scavenge one off of Zabuza's corpse when Kakashi finished signing and slammed his hands into the ground with a quiet command, **Earth Style: Stone Eyed Serpent King**. There was a slight pause then a sudden tremor almost knocked Naruto from his feet.

The ground around the four ninja started to raise up out of the clearing until finally they were standing twenty feet above terrified mercenaries on the head of a huge snake. Before they could recover a huge tail rose out of the woods behind them. Naruto saw Gatou look up at them with a mixture of terror and hate, then the tail came crashing down. There was a tremendous boom which toppled trees and shook the earth. When the snake raised its tail again there was no Gatou and Naruto had to look away. The snake sent its tail crashing into the ground twice more before the last of the mercenaries escaped.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sasuke leaned against Sakura and Naruto stood with Kakashi besides them in front of a makeshift grave covered in small white flowers watching Haku cry. Naruto ran his hand up to where Zabuza's sword was strapped on his back and felt incredibly awkward, but he wasn't about to leave a national treasure as a grave marker. Plus they needed something to claim the bounty and taking the sword made a lot more sense than carrying Zabuza's head back to fire country.

Sakura felt a strong urge to comfort the crying girl, but she couldn't think of anything to say. What do you say to the partner of the man you just killed? So she just stayed quiet and supported Sasuke while the girl bawled. Finally Haku's tears stopped falling and she sat quietly staring at the grave with empty eyes.

They waited in silence until Sasuke gave voice to something that had been bothering him. His voice sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet. "Umm Captain, Gatou was incredibly rich?"

"Yes."

Sasuke ignored the unenthusiastic answer and continued. "Well, if one of the mercenaries got his hands on some of that money they would become a huge danger to Tazuna. So maybe we should do a little … preemptive protection."

Kakashi didn't bother to keep the conflict off of his face as he thought about the proposal. He finally took a deep breath and said, "I don't see why not. Leaf village standard operating procedures have already been twisted beyond recognition anyway. Will you three be fine keeping a watch on her?"

Naruto glanced at the teams prisoner. Kakashi had taken her weapons and sealed her chakra, but that seemed almost unnecessary. The girl in front of them was broken, if they let her she would stay kneeling in front of Zabuza's grave until she joined him. He answered in clear calm voice, "We will wait as long as necessary. That is the least we can do for the man we killed."

Kakashi nodded and left the four of them by the grave. As they waited the sky turned dark and the stars came out. Naruto looked at his team in the dark and finally admitted to himself that letting Kakashi go after Gatou's base had been a terrible idea.

Someone obviously needed to talk to Haku, but Sakura was still horrified at what she had done and probably needed someone to help her as much as Haku did. Even worse, Sasuke seemed caught up in his own memories. Naruto knew just enough about his teammates past to know that was not a good thing. So, Naruto suppressed a curse and sat down besides Haku. He waited a minute for a reaction that never came, then asked, "Will you tell me about him?"

Naruto had been expecting a brief summary of her experiences with Zabuza. Instead he got her life story. "I was born in a small snowy village on the borders of the land of water. I was happy and my parents were very kind people. But when I grew older this cursed blood of mine brought tragedy." Sakura and Sasuke sat down besides them and Haku continued, "My father killed my mother then he tried to kill me." She looked at them then explained, "The country of water was once wracked by civil wars. And in those wars people with advanced bloodlines were used as weapons. As a result the bearers of bloodlines became hated as harbingers of misfortune and woe. After the wars, the clans unwilling or unable to join with the hidden mist had to hide the truth about their blood. For any who failed … there was only death."

"My mother carried within her the bloodline of the Yuki clan. My father discovered this...and he … When I realized what I had done I had killed him. My own father. At that time I realized something painful. I am someone who is unwanted." She fell silent for a moment. The waited patiently under the stars until she started again. "Zabuza-san took me in despite … no because of this cursed bloodline. This blood that everyone despised, he desired it. … I was so happy." As Naruto listened to her story he realized he couldn't quite pin down Haku and Zabuza's relationship. The missing ninja had been her partner at times and her master at others. He had even been a father a few times. The Naruto realized roles didn't matter, Zabuza had been the most important thing in her world regardless. It was feeling he could respect … and understand.

They made their way back to Tazuna's abandoned house in the dark. Naruto watched while Haku found a futon and waited until she curled up asleep. Sakura helped Sasuke make it to a futon of his own and then left him. Naruto saw her stalk through the hall towards the door and numbly wondered why his problems couldn't wait until he got some sleep.

Naruto was really beginning to wish he had taken a course in counseling, he would have to do that after he slept. The thought of sleep inspired quiet muttering, "Hmm sleep...No bad Naruto! Fix Sakura's insecurities first." He managed to force himself back to silence before he caught her at the door and took an educated guess at what was troubling her and started paraphrasing a half remembered lesson of Danzo-sensei. "Sakura you are not a monster. It was combat and you did what was needed. Feel better so I can go to sleep"

She froze. He couldn't see in the darkness, but he was fairly sure she was blushing. She shook a moment and then burst out laughing, "Only you would add 'say feel better because I'm sleepy' to that lecture."

Naruto smiled and continued seriously. "Sakura you are my teammate. I will stand besides you no matter what."

He thought he saw her smiling back in the darkness, but waited quietly until she softly said, "Thanks." She took a deep breath and let it go before continuing. "Hey Naruto...I'll take the first watch, there are some things I need to sort out."

Naruto nodded and yawned. "Goodnight Sakura."

He was already down the hall when he heard her soft "Goodnight Naruto."

DTDTDTDTDT

Kakashi was beginning to regret agreeing to rob Gatou. The stone serpent jutsu had taken a lot more out of him that he expected. Which he reflected was really his own fault. Years ago when he had copied it, his sensei had told him that the stone serpent was too slow and chakra intensive to be useful for anything other than demolition. Kakashi mentally added scare mercenaries to the list of uses and tried to forget being stupid enough to spend half of his reserves on one jutsu.

Thirty percent reserves meant that using the sharingan would kill him in a little over five minutes. He didn't expect to need it, but knowing he couldn't risk using it set off every paranoid bone in his body. He looked up and realized that the swordsman he was following was almost out of his sight. Kakashi grimaced and jumped to another tree.

Three hops later Kakashi spotted a break in the trees near the sea. Another hop brought him in front of a large sign that read Gatou Shipping. Kakashi was a professional and refused to utter profanities while on a mission no matter how much the situation deserved it. He could have just asked a local where Gatou's headquarters was instead of following a confused thug around for three hours. The swordsman walked past into the compound without noticing Kakashi.

A few others saw the swordsman enter and appeared from the compound's large concrete office.

Another swordsman in a stocking cap called out to him, "Hey Tomino what took you so long?"

"The boss is dead."

"I'm the boss now. Why don't you join up? 'Kill 'Em All' Tomino would be a huge boost to our forces." The man in the stocking cap was relaxed, but the the two thugs near him had their hands on their weapons.

Tomino's hand fell to his own weapon before he warily asked, "You still going after the bridge builder?"

"Not while his pet ninja are around. Might set up a toll business on his bridge later though."

Tomino looked immensely relieved and his hand left his weapon. After a moment's thought agreed, "I'm in."

Kakashi wasn't sure how he felt about Gatou's mercenary army getting organized so swiftly after their boss's death. He finally sighed, "Well at least this means the money is still there."

Kakashi vanished back into the woods and found a comfortable branch to sit on. He used some of his ninja wire to tie himself to the tree and fell into a breathing pattern. He feel asleep only to wake precisely twenty one thousand heart beats later.

When he woke the sun had set and the compound was glowing with security lamps. Kakashi suppressed his growing since of irritation. Why did the mercenaries new leader have to be competent. If they had lit the security lamps then they probably also had watchmen out. Kakashi ran along to the canopy of the forest until he found a branch that almost reached the compound's fence and hopped down. Kakashi gathered chakra and silently commanded **Earth Style: Tunneling Beast Technique**. He didn't make any noise as he fell into the earth.

He tunneled towards the compound and stopped a few feet short of where he suspected their basement was. He carefully molded chakra into one of the most complicated techniques he knew. He built a dense net of earth natured charka and commanded **Earth Style: Echolocation**. A surge of charka sped off into the ground around him. A few seconds later he felt the surge of chakra bounce back to him.

He allowed himself a small smile. It might have not been as precise as hokage-sama could do but it was still one of his best results with the technique. The basement of the building was two feet in front of him and the building had thirty two chakra sources in it. Of those thirty two people twenty one had a chakra indicative of sleep. Six in the subbasement had a pattern indicative of high stress and five around the compound had the pattern of alertness. He reached out and made a small peephole in the well lit basement of the compound.

There was no one in sight so he slid out of the wall, but left the tunnel open in case the six in the subbasement were what he suspected. He looked around the room until he found a metal hatch set in the floor and went to work on the lock. After a few minutes of tinkering it popped open with a satisfying click and he pulled the heavy metal hatch wide open. Light spilled into the dark subbasement revealing that his suspicions had been correct. An iron ring was set in the center of the floor and from it ran six chains. The chains were locked onto collars around the necks six prisoners dressed in rags.

The flinched and scurried away from the light like rats. Kakashi hopped into the subbasement and wished he had the chakra to spare for a calming genjutsu. Instead he moved slowly while quietly talking. "I am here to help you. I am here to free you. I am a ninja of the leaf." Kakashi immediately wished he hadn't said that last one. Ever prisoner jerked against the chains until the collars dug bloody rings around their neck.

Kakashi signed and grabbed the first one's chain. He pulled her collar close enough to work on the lock while she jerked about ineffectively. Luckily the lock was much simpler than the one on the door above. It clicked open and she was free of the collar. He started working on the second one while she stood their staring at him blankly.

Kakashi was on the fifth collar when the first prisoner he had freed numbly asked, "Free?"

Kakashi gave her a smile and answered, "Free."

He had to help two of the prisoners up the ladder and into the tunnel. They would wait there for him to return. He seriously doubted their chances of successfully escaping even with the tunnel, but he couldn't just abandon them. Kakashi molded a little chakra and disguised himself as the mercenaries new boss. He walked up the stairs and right past a pair of guards. The bigger one started to question him and Kakashi gave him a quick irritated look and plastered frown on his face. The guard fell silent at once.

Kakashi walked towards the entrance of the building where a fire escape map was hung on the wall. Kakashi knew the map wasn't accurate since it didn't show the subbasement, but it was better than nothing. It did have Gatou's office written in big letters on the second floor of the building. Kakashi ignored another group of guards on his way to the office.

Kakashi canceled the transformation and locked the office door behind him. Gatou's office was an overdone affair. The furniture was a mixture of old heavy wood imported from the land of fire and tightly woven wind country cotton. The walls were covered with large paintings of industry and a single portrait of Gatou himself. Kakashi started his search with that painting, but to his disappointment their was nothing suspicious about it. He spent the rest of the search wondering why Gatou wasn't a consistent egomaniac.

He eventually gave up with the paintings and sat down in Gatou's supremely comfortable chair. He tried to scoot over to the desk to start searching it but his feet hit the back panel of the desk before he got close. Kakashi spent a fraction of a second wondering why Gatou would have a desk designed to emphasize how short he was, then his eyes narrowed in realization. Gatou had taken the extra foot room he didn't need and created a false panel.

The panel swung out on well oiled hinges after a few moments of effort revealing a heavy metal safe bolted into the floor below. Kakashi suppressed a sudden vicious curse and wondered how he was going to get Gatou's safe open. Attacking the floor bolts was pointless. He wasn't Gai. He couldn't carry a thousand pound safe for miles. Kakashi eventually decided against brute force since he wasn't sure how think the metal actually was. He spent a brief moment wishing he had spent the time to actually master echolocation to the extent hokage-sama had before focusing his chakra into the highest resolution field he could manage. He touched the door of the safe and released it with a command of **Earth Style: Echolocation**.

The chakra bounced back and gave him a blurry mental picture. The safe had a sheet of something non-metal near the locking mechanism and bars running throughout the door. He suspected that the safe was a glass re-locking type, which made attacking the door pointless for someone at his level of skill. A plan of attack formed in Kakashi's head and he started disassembling the desk around the safe. He made sure to keep the top of the desk in a single piece and laid it carefully against the wall of the room.

When the safe was exposed Kakashi took a break to plant a few traps around the door. He returned and examined the bolts of the safe. To his disappointment they lead into one of the buildings heavy metal beams grounding the entire safe. He sighed and leaped on top of the safe. Kakashi spent a second wondering why his sensei's technique kept coming up as the best course of action, then molded majority of his remaining chakra. It took three minutes for the rasengan to drill through the safe's hardened steel.

When the fabric of the inner lining was visible he let the technique fade and tried to ignore the sudden overpowering feeling of exhaustion. He ripped the padded fabric lining out of the top of the safe and admired the fist sized hole his efforts had created. He molded chakra and began the next stage of his plan with a command of **Camping Technique: Water Creation**.

Water flooded from his mouth into the safe. Kakashi noticed the water running out the door of the safe and mentally cursed. The rush of water from the safe's door meant it took Kakashi almost twice as much chakra to fill the safe as he had expected. He was about to fall over, but couldn't afford to pause now that he finally had the thing mostly full. He slapped his palm on top of the water and spent all but the dredges of his charka with a command of **Water Style: Water Explosion Wave**.

The water pressure inside the safe suddenly exploded upwards when he used the technique and the door burst from its hinges before the lock could engage. Kakashi could barely follow the door as it went across the room and through the wall to land on the pavement below. Kakashi fought off the waves of exhaustion he felt, that noise had to have woken everyone in the building. He sat the top of the desk down on top of the flooded floor and spread a sealing scroll over its relatively dry surface.

He didn't bother to look through the numerous containers inside the safe. He just grabbed everything that would move and sat it down on top of the scroll. He had barely cleaned out the safe when there was a sudden bang on the office door. He slammed his hands down on the scroll and channeled the dregs of his chakra to activate it. The contents of the safe vanished into the scroll as the room swam around him. He blinked away the dizzy spell and pulled a chakra pill from his tool kit.

Kakashi crunched down on the disgustingly bitter pill and felt a sudden surge of chakra flowing through him. He didn't let the new found strength fool him and started a mental countdown until it would fade and leave him completely empty.

There was another bang on the office door mixed with muffled shouting. Kakashi grabbed the scroll and tucked it into his vest when he heard someone cry, "Get out of the way!" The was a sudden tearing of wood as a sword ripped the door to pieces. Kakashi had time to see his traps cut apart the swordsman who opened the door before he dove through the exit hole the safe door had left in the wall.

He caught the side of the building with a hand and used his hands to wall walk down the side of the building. He broke out a bottom floor window and reentered as close to the stairs as he could. His entrance was met with bared swords. Kakashi cut them down without hesitation and left the kunai in their corpses as he walked down the stairs. Shouts rang out behind him but he ignored them and concentrated on getting to his tunnel. Mercenaries were pouring down the stairs into the basement behind him but he managed to jump into the tunnel before anyone could reach him. Once he was inside he molded a bit of earth chakra and collapsed the tunnel behind him.

He could hear the mercenaries shout in disappointment through the wall. Then one voice called out over the others, "QUIET!" Their was a brief silence then the voice of the mercenary leader continued, "That tunnel goes somewhere, look for it. We can kill him he wouldn't have run if he could have won a fight."

The former prisoners were waiting huddled in the lightless tunnel ahead. Kakashi forced himself to appear calm for their sakes. "Time to go." He got six frightened nods in reply and they started crawling down the tunnel. His mental clock hit two minutes when the first of the former prisoners reached the exit. Angry shouts rang out in the night when Kakashi pushed the sixth of the prisoners up through the hole. One of the searching mercenaries had spotted them.

The mercenary that saw them first received a kunai in throat for his efforts, but it was to late, the others were already charging towards them. Kakashi noticed the frightened prisoners standing around him and shouted, "Run you fools!" before picking off another mercenary with a kunai. His brain numbly informed him one minute when the mercenary leader came into Kakashi's vision. Kakashi made a desperate gamble and gathered most of the chakra the pill had given him while signing.

The mercenary leader and his men charged Kakashi. The range dropped. Fifty feet. Forty. Thirty. At twenty feet Kakashi finished the last hand sign and brought his fingers to his mouth before commanding **Fire Style: Grand Fireball**. The Fireball was pathetic, a little red blob barely three feet in diameter; Sasuke would have laughed. But it was enough. The fireball caught the mercenary leader in the shoulder as he tried to dive away. Kakashi didn't have time to appreciate his success as the world around him swirled.

He sprinted into the woods desperately trying to put as much area between himself and his pursuers as possible as the woods twisted around him. Kakashi tried to leap a log, but found his legs didn't have any strength and he couldn't jump high enough to clear it. Kakashi was sent sprawling over it and tried to push himself back up, but found his arms didn't have strength either. Kakashi's last conscious memory was the smell of wet leaves.

DTDTDTDTDT

Kakashi woke to an annoyingly bright sun. He rolled over and moaned. Not only did his whole body ache, he had a crick in his neck. The walk back to Tazuna's house was long and painful, but thankfully mercenary free. When he opened the door he saw that Naruto had already retrieved Tazuna and his family from their hiding place.

Naruto noticed him first and busted out laughing. Not only was Kakashi's normally silver hair was stained green and brown with mud, it also had little bits of leaves stuck in it. Tsunami turned around when she heard Naruto laugh and saw the jounin. She took a single look at Kakashi and told him, "The bath is out back."

**Acknowledgements:**

Betareader: Jyubi10

**A/N:**

**Haku was never really a threat to Kakashi, the whole fight was about him trying to balance time wasted with energy cost. His delay while trying to minimize his energy loss ended up causing the worse of both worlds. Zabuza ends up doing the same thing which is why he doesn't go all out against team seven from the start even though he knows they are dangerous.**

**Poor Kakashi never gets to use Lightning Edge. Though I do have to wonder why he never uses the Rasengan in canon. It would have made the fight against mask heart guy a lot easier.**

**I've always wondered how using shadow clones in battle isn't massively distracting so I decided to set an arbitrary limit for when shadow clone memories become a problem. The limit is 5 minutes. If a clone is older than five minutes its memories are at least a temporary distraction. **

**I have the chakra pill things reacting two different ways in this chapter on purpose. Kakashi gets the aftereffects a lot worse than Sakura because he was much lower on chakra in comparison to his total than she was. **

**Kakashi pulls a bunch of random techniques out of nowhere in the chapter. This doesn't bother me at all since he supposedly has mastered a thousand techniques. Makes you wonder why Canon!Kakashi only uses around six of them.**

**The difference between tunneling beast and fish projection is that the first allows faster movement and leaves a tunnel behind.**

**Haku lives. If you expected this congratulate yourself. **

**The next chapter will contain the very last of the wave arc (naming the bridge, Kakashi's loot, giant party with Kabuto as the DJ) since I didn't manage to fit it all into this one. Sadly I'm not sure when the next update will be. School is really picking up since finals are in just a few weeks. The soonest I can promise and update is dead week (3 weeks) but you might get lucky.**

**Thanks for reading and Happy Easter!  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 6

A strong southern wind blew and brought with it heavy rains to the country of wave. Construction on the bridge slowed to a crawl while a pair of miserable Konoha genin stood under an impromptu shelter watching their client shout orders at his workers. Despite their best efforts they were soaked to the bone, and they couldn't help but feel that their captain was abusing his authority to stay dry.

"Genin aren't prepared to watch prisoner's, huh." Naruto complained. After yesterday, he had decided to any complaints about Sasuke unsaid. He was fairly sure that Sasuke was playing up his injuries to stay dry, but wasn't about to mention that in front of Sakura. Her temper had been really short since the fight with Zabuza and he really didn't want to spend another day standing in the rain.

Sakura chimed in almost as soon as he had finished speaking. "Yeah, because Haku is a vicious bloodthirsty monster just waiting for the opportunity to stab us all in our sleep." Haku had been a wreck after her mentor had died. She had barely moved after Kakashi had sealed away the poor girls chakra. At first Sakura had thought the girl might just lie on the futon set out for her and cry until she wasted away. Then Tsunami had gotten involved.

Tsunami was a miracle worker, a terrifying _terrifying_, miracle worker. After the second day of sobbing, Tsunami had walked in, grabbed the crying mist ninja by her ear and dragged her off for a 'conversation'. When Kakashi had tried to protest all it had taken was a glance to silence him. Later that evening Haku had started helping Tsunami cook.

"I hear she's sharping her senbon, you know between helping Tsunami cook and randomly bursting out into tears." Naruto regretted it the moment he had said it. He saw Sakura looked a bit sick. She was unconsciously rubbing her hands on her pants, but she didn't say anything. He suppressed a sudden urge to curse, closed his mouth and looked back out into the rain. Unless his ears were lying Haku wasn't the only one who was sobbing in the night. Sakura had taken killing Zabuza almost as badly as Haku had taken his death.

The rain got heavier as the day drug on until even Tazuna gave up and sent the workers home in a stream of curses. Kakashi had taught them a chakra control exercise that leaf had stolen from hidden rain years ago. It sounded simple enough, push chakra out of the tenketsu in your upper body to create a small shield which rain bounced right off of. In reality it was exactly how Kakashi had described it, a jounin level control technique. Even Sakura ended up with a malformed lump that leaked like a sieve and she could only keep it up for a few minutes.

They followed behind Tazuna soundlessly while trying to pick out any threats moving through the rain. When they finally reached Tazuna's house, Naruto had to suppress the urge to punch Kakashi. The jounin was standing in the door smiling and dry while they walked through the yard. Naruto finally suppressed his irritation with a mental vow to unleash some of his very best pranks on the jounin.

The genin shook off their drenched jackets and left them to drip on a hanger before walking into the main room of the house. Sakura grabbed a change of dry clothes and gave the males in the room a small smile, "Peeping will be punished." Naruto felt a sudden intense fear as a white specter in a formal kimono and a great horned noh mask briefly appeared behind her and stared at them. It kept watching them until she vanished up the stairs.

Naruto immediately resolved not to go up the stairs no matter what. He looked over at where Kakashi and Tazuna were staring at the foot of the stairs blankly and managed to ask, "Did anyone else...horns."

The others nodded vigorously. Tazuna mouthed, "...Genjutsu?"

"I sure hope so."

The three witnesses independently reached a conclusion to never mention the event again and shakily went about their business. Sakura and Naruto had barely changed into dry clothes when Haku and Tsunami informed them that dinner was ready. Dinner was a quiet affair where everyone was lost in their own troubles.

Naruto could tell, Tazuna was worried; the bridge was going slowly in the weather. The efforts against Gatou had basically shut down the normal supply shipments to the island while his business regained its footing. The only ones prospering were the fishermen running supplies across the channel. Now that they didn't have to fear Gatou's patrols they were making as many runs as they could, but prices were still climbing as scarcity set in. And the community's hopes still hung on the bridge.

The one improvement to the atmosphere was Inari. Who had become cheerful ever since the

'super cool ninja' had avenged his dad. Naruto wasn't sure if that was a good thing for a small child to be so happy about, but wasn't about to tell the kid otherwise while Sasuke was nearby. Tazuna's voice shook Naruto out of his musings. "Today we laid the last of the supports. If all of my work crews return after the storm blows through we should be done super quick."

"That's great news Tazuna-san. Is all of your crews returning likely?"

"They had better, none of the fishermen will run sake for me."

DTDTDTDTDT

After Tazuna and his family had fallen asleep, Kakashi pulled out a familiar scroll and sat down next to the small lantern Tsunami had set aside for their use. He gave Sasuke and Haku a pointed look before unrolling it. Haku gave the scroll a wistful look before walking with Sasuke into the other room to play Go for the sixth night in a row. Once they were gone Kakashi released a small burst of chakra into the scroll and the contents of the safe appeared in a small poof of smoke.

Naruto new exactly what was in the small pile. There was precisely one hundred thousand ryo, which was only half of what Haku said Zabuza had been promised. Three pieces of tasteful and presumably valuable jewelry, including a gold pocket watch decorated with incredibly detailed designs. One set of very worn playing cards, and an apparently endless pile of paperwork. Naruto was rapidly beginning to detest that pile.

Sakura and Naruto grabbed papers off of the pile and started reading. The papers could be sorted into three general categories. The first type was the main reason that they waited for Tazuna and his family to go to sleep before sorting the papers. Gatou had kept a great number of deeds and land claims in his vault; Konoha was now the proud owner of a good two thirds of wave. Naruto wasn't sure what would come out of it, but strongly agreed with Kakashi's decision to present them to the Hokage on the sly.

The second type of papers was countless list of transactions and receipts which were mind numbingly boring. Naruto really didn't care that Gatou had shipped three loads of grain from and two loads of metal towards the land of rice in the fourth month of the year, but Kakashi insisted that they read through every paper and mark its content on the inventory he was making.

Naruto thought the last type of paper might be the most interesting if he could read it at all. Gatou had kept records of his secret transactions in a cypher of scratches that Naruto could not make heads or tails of. Kakashi took those and sealed them in a separate scroll when they were found. When they had asked him if he could decrypt a page, he had just given them that infuriating smile of his and continued to work like normal.

After marking a page's content on the inventory they numbered the page and added it to the 'completed' stack. After a few hours of work they sealed away the results of their work in a new scroll before returning the mound of unsorted papers, cash and trinkets to the original scroll. Sasuke and Haku had already gone to sleep when Kakashi finally let them go. Naruto took the first watch and sat down against the wall by the heavy canvas drape that had replaced Tsunami's door. Strong gusts of wind would occasionally spray water into the house and onto him, but he preferred the sounds of the storm over the sounds of the others.

Haku cried in her sleep, but she was almost quiet enough to ignore. Sakura was worse, she shouted and twisted when her nightmares caught up to her. Even Sasuke was muttering in his sleep, though Naruto couldn't tell about what.

DTDTDTDTDT

Tazuna's estimation proved accurate; the last stone was laid four days after the storm broke. It seemed as thought the entire village turned up to to see the 'Heroes of Wave' off. Naruto couldn't help but grin like an idiot as they walked through the cloud.

Naruto carried Zabuza's sword in an awkward bundle on his back. The Captain had refused to seal it away, claiming it was too valuable to risk losing due to a damaged scroll, but Naruto suspected that he just wanted to show off to the village.

The Captain had also pulled rank when it came time to decide who had to carry the rather large and heavy blade. Naruto had considered pushing it off on one of the others, but Sasuke was still injured no matter how loudly he protested that he was fine. When he had tried to get Sakura to carry it she had given him one of those smiles. The irresistibly cute kind that turned a well reasoned argument into stammers as his eyes glazed over.

He had even thought about asking Haku, but she was having trouble carrying her own gear since her chakra was sealed. And one glance at her red rimmed eyes had been enough to dissuade him. Making her carry her master's sword would be too cruel.

Haku uneasily kept the Konoha ninja between her and the cheering crowd, and Kakashi kept a firm hand on her shoulder. But it didn't really matter, as far as the crowd knew she was another one of the 'Heroes'. They could hear the cheering behind them as they turned the bend and started the long journey back to Konoha.

DTDTDTDTDT

After the third hour Naruto was really starting to hate his hospital room. Danzo-sensei had taken one look at them before sending all three members of team seven to a small hospital on the North side of Konoha. He claimed that it was standard operating procedure to have a medical check after any mission involving combat, but Naruto suspected that the old man was just worried. At least the nurses here were a lot nicer to him than the nurses at Konoha general.

The doctor made an appearance a few moments later. She looked like she was in her late thirties and wore her lab coat open, sweeping behind her like a cape. The doctor shook her long braid of hair as she walked in and said, "Sorry for the wait, we were making sure your friend didn't pick up any infections from getting sliced up like that." She didn't sound very sorry at all. "How did the rest of you get off without a scratch when he ended up like that."

Naruto sighed, he doubted she would be fooled by the 'classified bloodline' story Kakashi had fed to Sakura and Sasuke. "The...It..healed me after Zabuza drove a sword through my gut."

Her eyes went wide open, but her tone was completely normal when she said, "I see." She took a breath then added, "We will need to do a few tests to see what effect that had." She walked back out the room and looked back to see he wasn't following. "Come on."

Naruto hopped up out of his seat and followed a few feet behind her as she ordered nurses about. Eventually she lead him into a big circular room bare of any furniture except a giant cylinder in the center that seemed to be bolted into the ground. On the floor an incredibly complex seal was burned into the cement. The doctor placed her hands on the cylinder of the center of the room and for a second the seal array blazed with a rainbow of light before settling on a blue green. The cylinder came apart with a hiss and sections lifted off the floor revealing a platform inside.

"This machine allows us to take pictures of your chakra system to look for damaged caused by the fox." She gestured to a small flap in the door Naruto hadn't noticed before. "You will need to undress before we can start, please put your clothes through the door when your undressed. They can't stay in the room while the scanner is active. I'll be at the control panel and will give you further instructions through the speaker." She gestured towards the speaker set into the ceiling. "Any questions?"

Naruto indicated that he understood and the doctor walked out of the room. He spent a moment wondered if she could see him somehow before pushing the thought from his mind and started undressing. He had barely finished when the speaker came on in a burst of static. "When your ready stand on the platform in the of the scanner."

Naruto quickly stuffed his clothes through the door and walked to the center of the machine. He waited a moment then called out, "I'm on the machine!"

Apparently the doctor could hear him because the speaker came back on a moment later. "Alright I'm lowering the doors, make sure you stay clear. It would be a pain to clean up the blood if you got something caught." The last bit was mumbled and obviously not meant to be picked up by the speaker. It did nothing for Naruto's confidence.

An alarm rang and the sides of the cylinder slowly moved down around him. They clicked down into the sides of the platform a moment later, leaving him with only a small hole in the top of the cylinder for light. The speaker buzzed on again. "You need to channel a bit of chakra while the system is scanning. I'll tell you when." Naruto made a ram sign and waited for the speaker to sound again. "Alright start."

He channeled a little bit of chakra through his system and a second later the walls of the cylinder exploded into light. Complex seals drawn on the walls around him shifted through colors in a pattern. What Naruto thought was forever, but was in actuality a few minutes later the seals went dark again and the speaker sounded, "Alright you can relax, give me a few minutes to make sure the scan came out right."

Naruto protested, "What about me?" But no one answered an more importantly the cylinder remained closed around him. After a few seconds of angry gestures Naruto sighed an sat down in the small space. Almost thirty minutes later the alarms went off and the walls of the cylinder started to rise again. When he stepped out his uniform was waiting for him in a neatly folded pile nearby. The doctor was waiting out in the hall for him. "Did anything show up on the scan?"

"Sorry it will be a few days before we will be able to analyze it."

Naruto grumbled, "Then why was I stuck in the tube for half an hour." But the doctor didn't reply as she lead him back to the room he had waited in before.

"The nurse will be here to take you blood for the standard disease and poisons test, after that you should be free to go." The doctor left him in the room without another work. The nurse came in a moment later. She was a cute girl a few years older than Naruto with close cropped gray hair pulled back underneath a cap. She carried with her a couple needles and vials on a tray.

She slapped the patient bed where she wanted Naruto to sit, and her grumpily moved from his comfortable seat in one of the waiting chairs to the bed. The nurse sounded a bit grumpy too when she asked, "Which arm do you want me to draw blood from?" Naruto raised his left arm and stretched it out to her. She sat the tray down beside Naruto on the bed and pulled up a chair for herself.

She frowned at his arm for a moment before finally telling him, "Take of the jacket and roll up your sleeve. Naruto did what she asked then grabbed his arm when she was done. She rubbed an antiseptic that smelled strongly on crook of his arm before thumping it a couple of times to make the veins stand out. When she was satisfied with the veins she jabbed the needle into his arm and started filling her vials. She had him squeeze his fist to keep the blood flowing as she filled three vials. When she was finished she taped a piece of gauze over the wound and vanished into the hall without another word.

Naruto sat a moment more in case someone else needed to jab him with something else before walking out into the hall. He was barely out of his room when he saw a familiar face getting pushed down the hall in a wheelchair. "Haku?"

She looked up at him and blinked a couple times. "Oh...hello Naruto." She almost didn't get through his name because of a big yawn.

Naruto turned to the nurse pushing the wheelchair and asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"The sedative she was given is taking effect."

Naruto's eyes widened a bit and his voice was a bit incredulous when he asked, "And why was she sedated?"

"It's standard procedure to sedate prisoners during their medical checks."

Naruto didn't really know how to respond to that. Sure Haku was technically a prisoner, but he hadn't really considered her one. "...Prisoner?"

The nurse seemed to pick up on his confusion. "Don't worry we received all the details about her from Danzo-sama and Kakashi-san. She will be treated appropriately for her status, but we still need to follow procedure." Naruto nodded slowly and gave Haku a final glance. She was leaned to the side of the wheelchair clearly asleep. Then he walked out of the hospital; Danzo-sensei wanted their mission reports by tomorrow.

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo closed the mission report with a sigh and looked at where Naruto was standing stiffly in his uniform before his desk. He gave Naruto an exasperated look. "Lets go over this, just so I have my facts correct. You realized you were on a miss marked mission when a pair of missing ninja, later identified as the demon brothers, attacked your client Tazuna the bridge builder."

"Yes, Sir."

"And you continued the mission at this point because?"

"Because if we abandoned a client in the face of adversity it would look bad for the village."

Danzo-sensei gave Naruto a very level look for a few seconds before finally saying, "I'm impressed you could say that with a straight face. Now why did you really continue with the mission?"

Naruto winced at his instructor's tone. He stuttered through a few words before finally taking a deep breath and stating, "Because I wanted too. It was our first real mission, it didn't seem fair to abandon it like that."

Danzo-sensei stared at him a few moments more before finally saying, "That was mistake Naruto. As a ninja of the leaf you cannot afford to let your personal feelings interfere with your duty. When you forgave your client for a breach of contract, you put other leaf ninja in jeopardy."

"Yes, Sir."

"Lets continue, You were the one to suggest that the three of you attempt to delay Zabuza while Kakashi quickly disabled his partner."

"Yes, Sir."

"And why did you not follow this plan?"

"I don't understand sir."

"After leaving the bridge your client was out of direct danger, and you lead Zabuza into a direct confrontation in a prepared area. Which was a good plan if you were attempting to kill him, but your objective was not to kill him. You were trying to delay him."

"I thought that drawing him into battle was the best way to delay him. After the first confrontation with Zabuza, I came to the conclusion that Zabuza likes to play with his opponents. If we ran then he would have brought his full power to bare against us earlier, in an area we had not prepared."

"If you had reached that conclusion ahead of time you should have informed your Captain of your plans, there is a reason we do not pit genin against jounin."

"I will take responsibility for it."

Danzo-sensei gave Naruto an irritated look and said, "Yes, Yes you will. But that isn't the lesson I'm trying to teach. You would have died without the kyubi's intervention, and it could have been much worse. What would you have done if he had revealed capabilities he hadn't used in his first battle? He could have used a low level genjustu and you at least would have been helpless. He could have poisoned his blade for the second battle. He could have done any number of other things. The difference that separates jounin from genin, more than combat power, is a breath of knowledge that you three do not yet possess. Confronting Zabuza directly was a mistake Genin Uzumaki."

Naruto's face fell as his sensei lectured him. As Danzo-sensei talked he felt a growing certainty that he was in a great deal of trouble, but that wasn't the worst of it. Naruto felt terrible because he recognized that his sensei was right. They had been incredibly lucky in the battle against Zabuza, and ninja couldn't afford to depend on luck. He couldn't think of anything to say back to his teacher and silence hung heavy in the air.

"And that brings us to another point. You used the shadow clone to accelerate your training when you prepared for the second confrontation with Zabuza."

"Yes, Sir."

"You do remember, that I specifically forbade you from creating more than twenty shadow clones a day."

"Yes, Sir."

"So you knowingly disobeyed your superior's orders?"

Naruto's voice was barely a whisper. "Yes, Sir."

Danzo stared at him with contempt for a few minutes before finally sighing and continuing the questioning, "After the initial confrontation with Zabuza were you the one to suggest that Kakashi attempt to invade the Gatou shipping company headquarters?"

"Yes, Sir."

"This was also a mistake, but it is outside the scope of your responsibility. Under no circumstances should have Kakashi left his primary responsibility, team seven in order to target something outside of the scope of the mission. This error is compounded by the fact team seven was currently supervising a prisoner, Zabuza's partner Haku."

"Haku isn't really-"

"Haku is a dangerous prisoner until proven otherwise, no matter the circumstances. Ninja cannot afford to assume, doing so risks the lives of your comrades." Naruto looked a bit rebellious, but Danzo continued in a consoling tone before he could say anything, "I understand your feelings on the matter, but that does not change your duty. That is why the ANBU that were placed in charge of her are following protocols until a Yamanaka clan member can be brought in to do an in depth confirmation of what you suspect."

"Yes, sir."

Danzo stood from his desk and took a deep breath. "Genin Uzumaki are you prepared to receive punishment for your misconducts during the Tazuna escort mission labeled C-17042?"

"Yes, sir."

"For breach of standard operating procedure in the matter of client protocol you are suspended for two weeks. For knowingly disobeying the orders of your lawful superior you are suspended for two weeks. This is a cumulative suspension of four weeks, this suspension will be entered into your records. Leave your forehead protector and license on my desk."

Danzo was proud that Naruto was able to remain quiet while he removed his forehead protector, but could see the first tears running down his face by the time he managed to get his license out. He didn't comment on them; not protesting the punishment was an achievement in and of itself for Naruto.

Danzo waited a few moments for Naruto to exit the compound before standing up and walking out himself. He wandered through North part of town until he found a small non-nondescript hospital. He had barely walked through the door when felt a surge of killing intent and he heard an inpatient foot tapping on the floor. He spotted her waiting in a chair she had pulled up and gave her a hopeful smile. "Hello Doctor."

She played with her a braid for a moment before replying, "Nice to see you finally came in for you checkup Danzo-sama. Its not like you missed it by three weeks or anything." Danzo suppressed a flinch and kept the smile up; he had long ago learned that if you pretended like nothing was wrong long enough, then his doctor's professionalism would get the best of her. She gave him another irritated look before standing up and leading him down the hall to her office. He knew the way of course, but letting her lead him gave her temper time to cool off.

Every time he was in her office he immediately noted that her office was bigger than his. He was fairly sure she had done that deliberately just to irritate him, so he didn't let anything show. Once he was seated on her comfortable couch she closed the door to the office behind them and activated the security seals in a flash of blue light. Danzo always loved to see those seals activate, they had taken him months to design and draw.

Once the seals were active Danzo asked, "So how were my students?"

She shook her head and picked up a small box off of her desk before pulling a chair to the couch. "Your arm first or we will never get around to it."

Danzo sighed and pulled his arm out of its sling. She grabbed hold of it and helped him carefully release the heavy metal seals. He could have the metal off in seconds if he triggered the quick release, but the break away bolts used in it were too expensive for his convenience to justify using it. It took almost five minutes to get the seal off without triggering the quick release.

The doctor was able to get the tightly wrapped bandages off much quicker. Underneath was the fruit of his research department's labors and a series of black deals with Orochimaru. Ten sharingan eyes set in flesh infused with the first hokage's DNA, a weapon of last resort against a jinchuuriki or demon attack. If the sight bothered the doctor she didn't show it.

Once the arm was fully revealed she opened the small box she had taken from the desk revealing a set of acupuncture needles and a worn stack of silk tags painted with incredibly complicated seals. The sight brought a faint smile to Danzo's face; even after all these years he couldn't decipher the seals Mito-sama had left behind.

The Doctor picked up the first needle and frowned in concentration. She had to channel a minute amount of wind chakra into each needle in order to get it to pierce the hardened flesh of his arm. If she channeled to little then the needle wouldn't pierce, but if she channeled too much then she could damage the arm. Despite the channel she worked through the stack quickly, speaking only when she needed him to adjust the position of the arm.

One hundred and eight needles later Danzo's arm and chest looked like a pincushion. She started carefully tying the seals to each needle with a small loop of thread she kept in her pocket. Originally they had been able to leave the seal tags on the needles, but once his skin had hardened they had been forced to take them off. Danzo didn't know what would happen if a stray burst of wind chakra ignited one of the seals, and he had a very strong desire to never find out.

The doctor allowed herself a small smile and a relieved breath when she tied off the last tag. "Danzo-sama I'm priming the seal array."

He nodded back at her and felt a tingling sensation rush through the arm and up his shoulder until it stopped just shy of his neck. The sensation was followed by a shower of tiny rainbow colored seals lifting out of his arm and twisting together until it looked like he was wearing a set of armor made from light. The doctor placed her hands on specific parts of the seal array and started tuning the armor until the whole of it glowed a deep steady green.

She looked up from her work and told him, "Danzo-sama I need you to channel chakra through the arm, carefully this time." He had done it carefully the last sixteen times but she would never forgive him for once accidentally turning the array into a shrapnel weapon. He pulsed his chakra through the arm and felt the first hokage's chakra aggressively absorb it. The array flared into a complicated pattern of blue, yellow, red and green bands. She spent few minutes frowning at the light, then adjusted one of the seals, turning the entire array blue and white.

After a few more minutes of observation she sighed and collapsed the sealing array. Danzo felt a brief flash of intense pain, but his pride wouldn't let him react to it. She started carefully untying the seal tags and speaking at the same time. "The last treatment wasn't as effective as we had hoped. The encroachment by the first's DNA has only slowed by eight percent."

"I see, so what is your suggestion doctor?"

That earned him a sardonic smile. "Remove the arm?"

He gave her an annoyed look back. That remark made it the eighth visit in a row she had told him to get rid of the arm. Her smile faded into a sigh and he said, "That unfortunately isn't an option, do you have any other recommendations."

She removed the last sealing tag and started pulling the needles out of his arm. She didn't put those back in the box, they would have to be cleaned before they could be used again. After the fourth needle she replied, "I'm not sure. We can adjust the drug mixture a bit and hope for better results, but for anything more drastic than that, I will need to get with the research staff."

"So what are the new projections?"

"At the current rate of encroachment will hit the point of no return in three and a half years. The arm will consume you in five."

"But in three years there is a chance you will come up with something that can stop the encroachment entirely or even reverse it."

She nodded in confirmation, but didn't look happy to admit the chance existed. She didn't want to agree to any excuse for keeping the arm on. After a second she replied, "These are projections for a no use scenario. If you are forced to use the arm then you will accelerate the time line." She pointed at the bandages covering his right eye, but didn't say anything. He had used Shisui's eye to insure she would never speak about implanting it, but she found ways to convey her fears about it's effects on the encroachment regardless.

The first time she had done that it had given Danzo a panic attack. He had forced Fu to crawl through the Doctor's thoughts and memories for days before they had come to a conclusion. The original programming that Fu's predecessor had given the then five year old girl after she had been kidnapped from hidden rock had become a fundamental part of her psyche over the last twenty years.

She would always find away to convey any necessary medical information to her superiors in ROOT regardless of circumstances. For that same reason it was very dangerous to use Shisui's eye on her, he had gotten very lucky her psyche had found a way to adapt and meet both the to the command to never speak about the eye and the command to relay important medical information to her superiors. If it hadn't she would have probably destroyed herself under the strain.

Danzo shook off thoughts of the past and helped the doctor finish reapplying the large metal seal. A few minutes later they were able to secure the last of the bolts and he slipped the arm back into its sling before fixing his coat. He changed mental gears and asked, "So what do you have to report about my students? Were there any complications with Sasuke's injuries?"

She retrieved the appropriate files from her cabinet before sitting back down on the chair in front of Danzo. She flipped them open in her lap and thumbed through them quickly to check her facts. "There were no complications with Uchiha-san's wounds. He was released hours after admittance after correcting some stitching Hatake-san should not have attempted." That brought a smile to Danzo's face. "We gave him the general immune booster and his blood tests came out clean."

"Haruno-san had no residual effects from her concussion, and had no other injuries. She was very lucky. On the other hand, Uzumaki-san is a subject of concern." She pulled out a set of printed color splotches on black paper as Danzo's eyebrows climbed. She held up the first. "This is a chakra map taken of the brain of a ninja without a bloodline." She handed the splotch of color to Danzo and held up another. "This is the recent scan I took of Uzumaki-san."

Danzo looked at the splotch of color where she had circled certain patterns and written notes in her precise hand and wondered what exactly it meant. "What caused this?"

The doctor pointed to one of the larger circles drawn on the print. "This is the remains of an aneurysm which should have killed him. The red around the small black spot is demonic chakra, which is regenerating damaged tissue. The purple ring is where his normal chakra system is slowly subsuming the demonic chakra.

For a moment Danzo was speechless as he stared at the picture, then he finally said, "I see. What are the consequences."

"I assume you mean besides the fact he had an aneurysm which should have killed him? I have no idea. I would guess that having a clump of demonic chakra in your brain is unhealthy, but I am hardly an expert in jinchuuriki physiology."

"Do you have a previous scan to compare this with?"

"No Danzo-sama. Uzumaki-san has never been to the ROOT clinic before and Konoha general has 'lost' his files." Danzo resolved to rake Konoha general over the coals the next time their budget came up for debate in the council. "But I can conclude that this is a relatively recent injury. At the rate which his chakra system is consuming the demonic chakra and the amount of regenerated tissue I would estimate that this began three to four weeks ago."

Danzo had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly how Naruto had experienced an aneurism, but he had to ask anyway. "How could damage like this occur."

"Its similar to the injuries a member of the Yamanaka Clan can inflict on themselves if they push themselves too hard. Does Uzumaki-san have any similar techniques?"

"Could this have been caused by using shadow clone?"

"Well yes, but to do this much damage he would need ..." Her face went very pale and she finished in a whisper. "an enormous amount of chakra."

"How long will it take for his chakra system to integrate the demonic chakra?"

The question was enough to send the Doctor back into her normal professional attitude. "Healing should be complete in two to three weeks. The chakra will be gone in about three months."

Danzo muttered under his breath, "Should have given the damn brat a harsher punishment when I had the chance." The he took a deep breath. "I expect a write up of this ...problem on my desk by next week. Two copies, one for me one for Genin Uzumaki." He glanced at the splotch of color still siting in her lap and asked, "Is there anything else."

"Yes, sir." She held up the last of the color splotches beside the one she had written on. She gestured to the splotch, "This is the chakra map of a sensor." She gestured back towards several smaller circles on Naruto's splotch and said, "Uzumaki-san appears to be developing the characteristic patterns of a sensor, though I can't be sure because of the mess the other problems have caused."

Danzo paused in thought then finally said, "Yes, that correlates with the 'flashes of light' that he described in his mission report." He paused a moment more before standing suddenly, "Unless there is something else, we are done for today."

Her words sent him right back to the couch, "You forgot to ask after the ice user." He gestured impatiently for her to continue. "We put her through the standard screening first. She came out free of any malicious seals, poisons or diseases. Since its standard operating procedure to sedate prisoners during the screening it was simple to follow your additional instructions. While she was unconscious we were able to use chakra surgery to harvest a number of her ova for the project. Due to bleed from the other parts of the scan the surgery should be undetectable, and when she awoke she showed no signs that she was aware of it."

Danzo nodded thoughtfully. "Where is she now?"

"She is in one of the A block cells underneath this building." The doctor looked at Danzo's frown a moment and added, "You said we were to treat her as well as possible...Should I have her prepared for an obedience seal?"

Danzo considered a moment, then said, "No, there is no need to rush, but draw up a seal for very low level programing and send it to me." Danzo gave it a moment more of thought then shifted gears. "How many different samples have you collected for the project including hers."

"I have collected ova samples from four individuals without their knowledge, another six have donated samples at your request. The involuntary samples are in order of supply, Kushina Uzumaki, Tsunade-"

"Yes, I know...And is the plan to take male samples from the general hospitals cold storage still viable?"

"Yes, Sir."

Danzo stood and walked to the door. He paused before disengaging the security seals and said, "Then begin stage two of the project."

"Sir, your students. They will hate you."

The security seals came down and Danzo walked out. No one heard him mutter, "In five years it won't matter."

The hokage was waiting for him outside the hospital. Sarutobi waved when he saw Danzo exiting the hospital. Danzo walked over and asked, "Don't you have work to do?"

"Ah the joys of shadow clone."

The mention of shadow clone ruined the good mood the news about the project had given him, so he complained, "Irresponsible."

"Its only irresponsible if something goes horribly wrong."

"So how did you ditch your ANBU?"

"Naruto's trick. I created a shadow clone, told my ANBU that it was going to go check some facts with you, then pulled a sign less substitution when they weren't looking."

Danzo filed away that bit of information, if he decided not to strangle Naruto for nearly killing himself with shadow clone he would pass along the improvement. "Speaking of shadow clone, Naruto is have a bit of a problem with the mental strain caused by the technique. Can you think of a solution?"

Sarutobi frowned a moment, causing Danzo to wonder how much he read into 'a bit of a problem.' Then the hokage finally admitted, "No, not off the top of my head. I'll ask Jiraiya when he comes to check on Naruto's seal."

The walked quietly a bit until the hokage mentioned, "I received your complaint about Kakashi. A formal request for reprimand, I was surprised."

"He almost got my team killed." The two walked up the stairs of the normal looking building which contained Danzo's public office. Inside a pair of ROOT agents greeted them. "Naruto can be forgiven for his mistakes on the mission, Kakashi should have known better. His actions were criminally irresponsible."

The hokage sighed and waited for Danzo to open the door to his office. When they were inside he sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs and said, "I'll file your request." Danzo nodded, getting the request filed would be the end of it. Konoha didn't reprimand its jounin for successful missions no matter what idiocy they were up too.

Danzo activated the security seals around the office. They were of a different design but similar level of effectiveness than the ones around the doctor's office. Danzo paused before sitting in his own uncomfortable chair to say, "I knew Kakashi didn't have the emotional detachment necessary to manage the team and should have acted on it. In the future he will not lead team seven on missions."

The both sat quietly for a moment. Sarutobi eventually replied, "The fact remains that Kakashi is the only one that can teach him how to use his sharingan."

"So it does. But your here for more pressing business than my team."

"Oh, but it has everything to do with your team. They brought back enough pay to push there mission into B rank range, not to mention the fact that they looted one of water countries national treasures."

Danzo gave Sarutobi a genuine smile. "I have that sword hanging in my other office at the moment."

"And they brought back those papers."

Danzo knew exactly what Sarutobi was talking about, but decided to play coy for a bit, "The deeds they retrieved will be useful in establishing a few safe houses in the area, which should also help stabilize Wave."

"No doubt they will."

There was an awkward pause and then Danzo gave in, "My analysts are almost certain. Your former student is in Rice and Gatou was one of his major suppliers."

Sarutobi looked very old at that moment, but his voice was firm, "I knew he became twisted years ago, but it still comes as a shock to me...Slaves." He twisted the last word into a frustrated curse.

"The analysts concluded that if he is in Rice he has to be involved in the emerging sound village. They are uncertain if the involvement is public or not. We knew from Itachi that he had cut his ties with Akatsuki"

"I see. And how does this affect your strategy of keeping him directed towards our enemies."

"It depends. If he is just affiliated with sound then this could be a continuation of his previous pattern of establishing a research base then relocating once it is functional. Which is unlikely to be catastrophic even though he is uncomfortably close. If he is one of the leaders of the sound village then he is changing his pattern and the plan is invalid. The full report will be on your desk by the weekend."

Sarutobi opened his mouth, but before he could say anything the security seals on the door flared to life again in burst of angry red. Sarutobi closed his mouth with a click and Danzo leaped up from his chair.

Danzo shut down the seals with a swipe of his hands and the door swung open to reveal an angry, red faced Sakura Haruno. As soon as she saw Danzo she started talking quickly in a half shout, "Don't suspend Naruto, I was the one who talked him into continuing the mission!" It took her another half second to realize who else was in the room and she suddenly went very pale.

Danzo gave her a half smile and said, "Sakura don't underestimate me. I knew Naruto would never continue that mission without either your or Sasuke encouraging him, but he was the one in charge. He has to take the responsibility; if you don't want him punished in the future don't talk him into such a foolish thing." Then he closed the door on her face and reignited the security seals.

"You suspended Naruto?"

"They have to learn somehow. And I plan to have someone give him some private training over the course of his suspension."

"His teammate seemed rather upset about it."

"She is a work in progress, but still I'm surprised she came to protest. She wouldn't have done that three months ago."

Sarutobi chuckled, "So she's not the useless civilian after all?"

Danzo paused a moment and then answered honestly, "Out of the three she is currently the best candidate for hokage." Danzo would treasure the look on Sarutobi's face for the rest of his life. The old hokage had actually sputtered. Danzo enjoyed his rivals expression for a moment more before continuing, "I hope to turn popular opinion in Naruto's favor, but as it stands now he could never become our hokage. Sakura is a good alternate because she has developed a close connection with our jinchuuriki."

Sarutobi frowned at calling Naruto 'our jinchuuriki', but couldn't deny that one of the traditional requirements for becoming hokage was having a strong relationship with Naruto's two predecessors. "You should speak to Koharu." Danzo blinked at the apparent non sequitur, but Sarutobi continued before he could ask Sarutobi continued, "She has expressed concerns that she won't be able to pass her presence concealment technique on to her granddaughter; if you really have that much faith in Sakura you should see if Koharu is interested in passing it outside the family for a single generation."

Danzo didn't let his excitement color his voice, "I see; I will make sure to speak with her." He spent a moment deciding if he really wanted to inform Sarutobi before saying, "I'm going to start them on the ANBU poison immunity package next month."

Sarutobi didn't protest, but his voice carried a fair bit of worry when he asked, "Are you sure that's wise?"

"Whether through luck or ability they killed one of the seven swordsmen of the mist. When that becomes known people will take note, and they will come to kill my team."

Sarutobi's face was grim at the thought, but his voice was firm when he asked, "So what do you plan to do with their prisoner. Somehow she never made it to the normal holding facility."

"She is going to spend the next week in a rather comfortable holding cell and a friend of mine in the Yamanaka clan is going to ask her a few questions. Provided she gives the right answers I'll unseal her chakra and buy her an apartment, I here that room 302 in the Tiger Street building is open."

Sarutobi chuckled and wondered how Naruto would react if Danzo really bought the young girl an apartment right next door. "And if she wants to leave the village?"

"I'll cross that bridge if I have too."

Sarutobi didn't press the question and left a few harmless remarks later. Danzo followed him out. It was a short walk across town to the main ROOT compound entrance. Danzo passed out orders to Torune as he walked, "I need you to find Mai and ask her to come to my office." He paused a moment then added, "Send Fu by also, but give him my apologies for ruining his day off." He made it to the very comfortable chair in his actual office a few minutes later.

Fu was already waiting for him when he got there. Danzo spent a half second wondering just how Torune had accomplished that before moving on to more important business. "Fu one of my students recently displayed ability as a sensor. I want you to take a month off to help train him. See if your cousin will let you use the Yamanaka Clan course." Danzo thought for a few more seconds and added, "Bring Lain, I'm sure shes bored anyway. Oh, and don't let him use shadow clone."

"Who am I training?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. He's suspended so you should be able to find him around his apartment, be subtle about who sent you."

Yes, Danzo-sama."

Fu had barely walked out when Mai walked into the office. "You wanted to see me Captain? Was there a problem with the hidden cloud report?"

"No this is about a side job I had you do a few months back. Do you remember a genin named Sakura Haruno."

"Yes Sir, everyone knows your students."

Danzo spent a few seconds digesting that before deciding to worry about the consequences later. During her last mission she killed a foe in combat for the first time, I want you to accidentally run into her again and help talk her through it."

"She kill anyone I know?" Mai joked.

"Danzo gestured to the sword set on a pair of hooks on the wall of his office. "Zabuza Momochi." Mai's mouth hung open for a few seconds before twisting into a big grin. She dismissed herself before he had a chance to reconsider his decision to send her.

**A/N:**

**Well this was late. You can blame finals and me treasuring my one week of summer vacation. Or you can blame the guy who linked me to tvtropes. Your choice. Summer term has started up so I will hopefully be back to a normal schedule for the next few chapters.**

**The section of this still set in wave was really painful to write. Hopefully it won't be too painful to read. **

**This chapter is a bit short for two reasons. I have another six thousand words of team seven training written, but realized that I don't want to skip the conversation between Sakura and Mai, and I promised I would put this up over the weekend. There was no way I would get the conversation with Mai the way I wanted it in the next three hours. **

**For those of you put off by Danzo plotting and brainwashing people, I'm sorry, but it seems like the sort of thing that he would do. His artificial insemination project guarantees Konoha another generation of powerful ninja; its also guaranteed to piss off everyone who he stole materials from. For those of you interested in details of the project that I didn't describe in the actual narrative; he plans to artificially fertilize eggs and insert them in surrogate mothers. He doesn't have any particular plan to brainwash the children or raise them as soldiers outside of the normal shinobi academy. **

Because this Chapter was short I wrote out the following data about the OCs that have appeared so far.

Name: Mai

Age: 19

Rank: Special Jounin, ROOT 2nd company commander

Bloodline: Extreme fire affinity. This is a genetic aberration rather than a true bloodline; Mai has an impossibly high affinity for fire. Her fire techniques are much more destructive and cost effective than those of an average ninja. This comes at the price of making non-fire techniques very difficult to learn. Even basic techniques such as substitution and clone are as challenging as an A-ranked fire technique for her; non fire elemental techniques are impossible.

Other skills of Note:

Infiltration and Espionage Expert

Eight Celestial Gates, First and Second Gate.

Summoning Contract: Fire Leviathan Kagutsuchi

Background: Danzo saved her from a fire she accidentally started when unlocking her bloodline; she has followed him ever since. She is one of the few ROOT personnel that has never gone through any form of emotional conditioning.

Name: Doctor?

Age: Secret

Rank: Chunin, ROOT medical staff commander

Bloodline: None

Other Skills of Note:

Extremely proficient in medical sealing techniques.

Extremely proficient in medical ninjutsu including chakra surgery

Has studied Orochimaru's research on bloodlines and had added to it.

Endemic Memory

Background: She was kidnapped along with several other children from the village of stone during the third ninja war. In ROOT she had undergone several conditioning programs that leave her an utterly devoted if fragile tool. She cannot remember her real name.

Name: Lain

Age: 12

Rank: Genin, ROOT general staff

Bloodline: Magnetism

Other Skills of Note:

Eye of the Thunder God (S-Class Sensing Technique)

Jounin level ability with a tanto

Background: She was recruited by ROOT from the streets of Suna at an extremely young age and can barely remember anything else. She was in the general recruit pool at one point, but developed her Eye of the Thunder God sensing technique before Danzo completed her training. When Danzo saw the technique he immediately recognized the value as an early warning system for leaf village and removed her from the general recruit pool. Because of the value of the technique she is never allowed more than a few miles from Konoha. She trains herself with a tanto constantly to stave off boredom.


	8. Chapter 7

Sakura was sitting on a park bench near the academy feeding the birds. When she was younger she had met Ino at the bench every day. It was comforting.

"So how are you doing?" Sakura jumped at the unexpected question; then cursed herself for being caught unawares. Sitting next to her on the bench was a familiar red head.

"Sorry." Sakura wasn't sure what she was sorry about – Jumping or not noting the special jounin.

Mai didn't seem to care, "Don't worry about it. How have you been?"

Sakura shrugged then said, "Fine I guess, how about you?"

Mai stole a handful of bread from Sakura's basket and threw it to the birds. Then she asked in a soft voice, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sakura tossed another handful of bread to the birds, "I'm not sure if I'm allowed too. How did you find out anyway?"

"A cute little genin took down Demon of the Mist Zabuza; the ANBU has been talking and drinking about it for days now." She tugged up her sleeve up far enough for the bottom of her red ANBU tattoo to peak out from underneath. "You should be fine telling me, my security clearance is pretty high."

"I didn't know you were ANBU."

"Don't pass it around."

They were quiet a moment before Sakura began, "Zabuza and … his partner were targeting our client. So Naruto and Kakashi – I'm sorry, I mean our team leader and our Captain decided that the three of us should delay Zabuza while Kakashi eliminated his partner-"

"I'm detecting a fundamental flaw in your plan."

"What?"

"You were depending on Hatake to arrive on time."

The quip dragged a small chuckle from Sakura, but her face stayed locked in an expression of vague disinterest. "We confronted Zabuza with every trick we could think of, but he just wouldn't die." Her voice went flat. "I was scared, even after my illusions were useless I didn't move from my hole. Until Zabuza killed Naruto. Well … I thought he had killed Naruto anyway. I don't know what came over me when I saw that sword almost rip Naruto in half, but it got me out of that hole. Zabuza was wounded and exhausted by that point, so I cut him down." Sakura looked up from the birds to Mai and deadpanned, "Wow I suck at telling stories."

Mai took one look at her face and started giggling. She waved off Sakura's vaguely irritated expression and said, "You really need to hear some of the things floating around. Yesterday I got told in complete confidence that you overcame Zabuza using the legendary ninja mouse summons contract."

"What."

Mai started laughing harder as Sakura stared at her blankly. After a moment or two she recovered enough to ask, "So what happened to Naruto? I know I've seen him around the village since your return."

"Oh you know Naruto?"

"Everyone knows Naruto."

Sakura spent a moment considering that before replying. "I don't really know. After finishing Zabuza the next thing I remember is Naruto wrapping his arms around me...he was warm." She paused a moment; then her cheeks went faintly pink when she realized exactly what she had said. She moved on rapidly, "The Captain told us that Naruto's bloodline healed him. Which makes absolutely no sense."

Mai felt her blood freeze. "How's that?"

"Members of the Uzumaki clan were almost as famous for their immense stamina and longevity as they were for their skill in sealing." Mai opened her mouth to reply, but Sakura beat her to the punch. "Yesterday I went to the library and looked up the Uzumaki. I was trying to find something to help Naruto learn to use his bloodline more effectively, but I found something even more interesting."

Mai felt a slight pang of relief; at least Sakura hadn't discovered the Kyuubi before Captain Danzo was ready. Mai twisted her voice into a shade of eager unique to village gossips and asked "Oh, what is that?"

"Naruto Uzumaki is registered as an orphan of unknown birth. He was given the name Uzumaki to honor our past allies. He shouldn't have the Uzumaki bloodline." A weird silence hung in the air while Mai considered the situation. At first she had thought disguising the Kyuubi's regeneration under the guise of a healing bloodline had been a stroke of brilliance on Kakashi's or more likely Captain Danzo's part. But now she wasn't so sure; Sakura at least was convinced that there was some kind of conspiracy surrounding Naruto's birth. At least her idea made a good red herring for the demon.

Mai tried to diffuse the situation. "Perhaps Kakashi was just wrong?"

"He seemed confident when he explained it to us." Mai gave the girl a smile and let the point drop; she would just have to pass the information along to Captain Danzo and let him deal with the problem.

They sat for a while in silence after that, quietly feeding the birds. Then Sakura suddenly asked, "Does it get any easier?"

Mai had her arms around Sakura in a tight hug before the she could react. She gave the girl a hard squeeze, and the pink haired girl went stiff for a moment before relaxing. Mai put on her comforting voice and said, "Sakura, you did good."

The girl buried her face in Mai's jacket, and they stayed that way for a long while. Mai calmly waited as the minutes went by until Sakura was ready and was finally rewarded when she heard the genin's muffled voice, "It wasn't like that bandit I executed at all..." Mai wondered if she should comment on something she shouldn't really know about, but Sakura pulled free before she could decide. Her face was stiff and emotionless, but her voice was pleading. "Does it ever get any easier?"

Mai sighed and went with her planned lesson. "It doesn't ever stop... but eventually you learn to cope with it in your own way."

"How do you cope with it?"

Mai smirked and ruffled the girls hair, "Your a bit young for my brand of coping." Sakura looked distinctly unamused, so Mai's smile faded and she responded seriously, "Duty and Sacrifice. You put everything on the line for the village and your teammates."

"Did you steal that from one of the ANBU manuals?"

"Its paraphrased from a speech our division captain gives to graduating recruits ... I've always tried to live my life by that man's ideals." Sakura gave her an appraising look and Mai shrugged before continuing. "Eventually almost everyone in our line of work establishes a set of ideals they are willing to sacrifice and suffer in the service of. Knowing your sins are in the service of those ideals … it helps."

Mai stole another handful from the almost empty bowl of bread scraps and tossed it to the birds before continuing. "But people don't develop ideals like that over night. So, in the meantime I suggest you find a hobby."

Mai couldn't help but giggle at the look Sakura was giving her. She could barely stammer out, "I like to cook." before dissolving into laughter. A moment later Sakura joined in.

When she had finally recovered Mai stood and stretched. She gave the pink haired girl another smile and said, "I'm afraid I have to go to work. It was nice seeing you Sakura." She turned around and saw that Sakura looked a little less stiff than she had at the start. Mai was still smiling when she vanished in an body-flicker.

She reappeared on the stairs of a normal looking apartment building and knocked on the door. A second later a seven year old with blueish hair opened the door for her and she walked inside the ROOT compound. In the next room a trio of first division members in white masks were sitting quietly in case someone tried to force their way inside. Mai choose not to notice the playing cards hastily hidden underneath the table and walked past them into the tunnel system without a word.

She reached the main ROOT facility and another security checkpoint a moment later. She had to walk through a pair of columns inscribed with hundreds of tiny seals. She felt a small twinge in her chakra supply as the columns attempted to dispel any genjutsu and then another on her tongue as her ROOT seal validated that she was the second company commander. Once she was through the columns the mix of first and third division members manning the checkpoint saluted her. She returned the salutes before setting off down the hall.

Mai arrived to find that Captain Danzo was already entertaining a pair of analysts from the third division. She walked in immediately; he had told her to report as soon as possible and if he was having a secure conversation he would have sealed the doors. A moment later he took a trio of scrolls from the analysts and sent them back to their commander. Danzo took a quick look through the scrolls to insure they were what he expected, then stowed them in his coat. Once he was finished he gestured that she could be seated and said, "Report."

Mai took a seat at his request and began, "I met with genin Haruno Sakura at a park bench near the academy. We had a short discussion during which I ascertained that she is experiencing both the normal reaction to first combat and is to some degree blaming herself for her teammates injuries. She has taken an interest in Genin Uzumaki's strange healing and has found discrepancies in the bloodline story that Hatake proposed."

"Oh?"

"Apparently Naruto Uzumaki is not registered as a blood relation of the Uzumaki clan."

"And where exactly did she find that?"

"I don't know sir. I would guess one genealogy or another. Luckily she doesn't suspect the nine-tails. She seems to believe instead that there is a conspiracy hiding his birth parents."

Mai spent a moment wondering why her Captain was shaking, before he finally burst out in hearty laughter. Mai gave him a concerned look which he waived away. When he finally spoke the merriment was still thick in his voice, "There actually is a conspiracy. He really does have that bloodline."

Mai stared at her superior dumbly for a moment before she had to viciously suppress a giggle of her own. She immediately resolved to be present when someone finally explained everything to the genin no matter what it took.

It was a few moments before Mai was able to continue. "At the end of the conversation I passed along some general advice and introduced her to the ideal of duty and sacrifice."

"I see." He paused in thought a moment then added. "I intend to ask Koharu to aid in Sakura's training during the next working lunch of the elder council. Do you think she is stable enough?"

"Sakura or Utatane-sama?"

Danzo's lip twitched, but he managed to stay on track. "Sakura."

"Sakura is stable and on the road to recovery. I expect that she will throw herself into training to overcome the weaknesses the wave mission exposed. I hope to meet her several more times to ensure that remains the case. However, at this stage she is still emotionally vulnerable and Utatane-sama can be vitriolic at the best of times. There exists a chance of serious psychological damage if Utatane-sama presses her too hard while she is still recovering."

Danzo stared at Mai a moment, before deferring to her judgment. After all part of her infiltration training had been an in depth study of therapy and the human psyche, and his normal solution to this sort of problem wouldn't go over very well with Hiruzen. "Very well, continue to make visits as you see fit. I expect to have your full report by tomorrow."

Mai stood and saluted, "Yes, Captain." before walking out of his office.

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo sat in a private booth of one of Konoha's better restaurants enjoying a superb lunch as Koharu and Homura talked about their grandchildren. Apparently they had ganged up with Hiruzen's brat Konohamaru and formed an eerie copy of team Sarutobi.

The waitress appeared a moment later to clear away the excess dishes and bring them a jar of the aged sake for which the restaurant was famous. When she was gone Homura idly reached to the door and activated the security seals around the booth. A brief glance told Danzo that the seals weren't the work of a master, but they were good enough for most purposes.

Homura stared them off, "So what is the consensus on Nara's plan?"

Danzo spoke first, "It's solid, if not necessarily the brilliance that I have come to expect from Nara."

Koharu rolled her eyes, "There isn't very much room for brilliance. The whole problem could be solved by my granddaughter."

Homura gave his partner a long suffering look before turning to Danzo, "Have you received anything else about Rice?"

"I do not have so many troops as to waste them against a snake in his hole, but I do have a bit of new info."

"Oh ROOT has found something then."

Danzo didn't bother to suppress the smug smile he felt forming, the others would be able to guess what he was feeling anyway. "No actually. My genin team picked up some interesting information from a shipping magnet on their last trip."

"My analysts picked apart the papers they retrieved and have concluded that the pattern of purchases correlates with previous patterns established by the snake." He took a small sip of the yellowish sake and continued, "At the very least someone is conducting high level human experimentation on a large scale in the country of Rice."

"How sure are they that it is the snake?"

"Eighty percent. It's the best we will get without a sighting."

Homura turned to Koharu and asked, "Has Jiraiya sent anything else?"

"He is still in lightning, introducing another one of the fools involved in the Hyuga affair to the underworld." She paused a moment and her lips pressed into a thin line. "Sarutobi has recalled him to inspect the brats seal, we won't be able to send him towards rice for at least a month." Hatred hung in the air for a moment before Koharu took long drawl on the sake. Danzo choose not to say anything; Koharu knew her hatred of the container wasn't fair. But she would never stop despising the beast that had killed her dear Torifu.

Homura forced them back to the subject at hand. "So we suggest that Hiruzen accepts Nara's proposal and increases our import of grain from tea country?"

"Tea is one of Sand's main suppliers, challenging them in the market there will put even more pressure on them."

"Yes, that was in the report."

"But will they crack under the pressure? A desperate Sand still has the power to trigger another great war."

"Or their desperation will force them even closer to us."

"The issue remains. If the snake is truly holed up in Rice we can no longer afford to depend on it for grain. We have no choice but to ensure supplies from elsewhere."

"What about wave?" Homura smirked at Danzo, "I hear they are undergoing a recent rash of stability."

"My people predict that wave could become a meaningful supplier in a little under two years with proper investments." Danzo pulled a scroll from his jacket and tossed it to Homura before continuing, "But in the short term they are too destitute too accomplish anything meaningful."

"I see. I'll pass it along to Hiruzen and Nara." Homura refilled everyone's sake before starting again, "I believe the next order of business was the assassination in lighting?"

Danzo interrupted, "Actually, doesn't Konoha general's budget come up for renewal in the next council session?" He knew it did. "If so I would like to spend a moment discussing it."

Homura wondered what game Danzo was playing, but didn't give any sign of it. "It has been a rubber stamp for the last six years. Nabutoshi runs the place like a tyrant, but produces enough results to ignore."

"Unfortunately I have found his efforts …. unsatisfactory."

"And what exactly spurred that."

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Koharu stiffened and grimly said, "Your making him into a lesson."

"As amusing as it was to watch Hiruzen waste away his influence trying to protect the boy over the years it is time for this nonsense to stop. We can no longer afford to hate a sword because it is sharp."

Homura glanced at Koharu then said, "Nobutoshi is important enough for it to work, but not really influential."

To Danzo's great surprise Koharu nodded, "I agree." Then she chuckled, "Hiruzen will think his birthday has come early."

The rest of the meeting went quickly as the three of them worked their way through the jar of sake. When the last issue had been debated to conclusion Homura deactivated the seals and the three of them walked out. When they were almost outside Danzo called out, "Koharu-chan a moment if you would." Homura's eyebrows almost left his forehead at the suffix, but he managed to keep walking without tripping on his own feet.

Koharu turned around and smiled; Danzo had to suppress a shiver. Her smile was terrifying. "Are we turning on the charm now Shimura-san?"

Danzo shrugged. "It worked against that all female ANBU unit from Mist. And those twins from Uzu. And that tall blonde girl from Stone. And that one time in Iron Country …. I miss being young." Danzo ignored Homura's efforts to not laugh and a distant shout that sounded suspiciously like Maito Gai in favor of the small tick of Koharu's eyebrow.

"Did you need something?"

Danzo's voice took on a more serious tone, "I have a student I want you to help me evaluate."

"I see." She turned and left without another word.

Danzo turned to where Homura was leaning against the wall for support while grabbing his chest; Danzo shot him a wink and Homura couldn't suppress his laughter anymore. Danzo smirked, "I win."

Homura finally managed to pull himself together a moment later. "Danzo sometimes I wonder why I gamble with you. Then something like this happens."

"Just hold up your end of the bargain."

"Don't worry, I'll pay up."

"Always nice doing business."

Danzo walked out of the restaurant with a smirk. It had been a good day, Koharu would calm down in a couple hours and send someone asking about his student; she was nothing if not predictable. The village image of him as a 'cool old guy' had been reaffirmed, and Homura was honor bound to attend a series of nauseatingly bland diplomatic meetings in his place.

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto looked at where one of the uniform's Danzo-sensei had given him was laying on the bed for a long time before sighing and walking back to his closet. It just didn't seem right wearing that uniform while he was suspended. He pulled on his old orange jacket and pants a moment later before walking out the door towards the bank. He hoped that the money from the mission or the bounty on Zabuza came through or buying groceries was going to be really rough.

Outside an odd pair was waiting for him. A man in his late twenties with red hair and stern features was accompanying a young girl even shorter than him, who was wearing a pair of pajamas that looked like a bear costume. The red head spoke first, "Genin Uzumaki?"

"Yes?"

"We're here to kidnap you."

Their was an awkward pause, then Naruto finally managed to ask, "...What?"

The girl in the pajamas complained. "That wasn't nearly as funny as I had hoped."

The red head sighed and started again, "Remember your recent trip to the hospital?"

"Yes."

"Well something strange came up on your chakra scan, so the doctor asked us to come by and check on you."

Naruto moved out of the doorway and gestured for them to enter his small and rather dirty apartment. The girl in the bear pajamas eventually took a seat on his bed while the red head kept standing. Naruto settled into a chair before asking, "So what do you need."

The red head answered again, "I'm going to flair my chakra, I need you to tell me if you feel anything." The man made a ram sign and began.

Naruto was assaulted almost immediately by a tremendous flash, so bright it made his head hurt. Before he could call out the girl on the bed spoke, "Enough Fu, he doesn't know how to adjust the gain."

The flash stopped immediately and Fu gave the girl in pajamas a glance. She responded to the unspoken question. "He's definitely a sensor type."

Naruto finally recovered enough to ask, "What was that."

Fu answered, "That was my chakra. We just confirmed that you have a very special ability, you can sense chakra." He paused a moment to see if Naruto would react then continued, "Lain and I were asked to help train you to use your gift properly if you were actually a sensor."

Naruto shrugged, "Umm, you guys know I'm suspended right?"

"Sensors are important, your suspension won't be a problem."

"Are sensors really that important?"

Before Fu could respond Naruto felt a small surge from Lain. A moment later she reported, "There are currently zero unknown and one hundred and ninety eight known jounin-level chakra signatures within ten miles of Konoha. The known signatures in alphabetical order are Aburame Ao who is currently at the Aburame Clan compound, Aburame Shibi who is at -"

"I think he gets the point."

Naruto did in fact get the point. His mind was spinning with the implications of being able to pinpoint the locations like Lain. His mouth finally caught up a moment later, "That's awesome Lain-chan! Will I be able to learn to do that? Think of all the pranks you could pull!"

Fu was taken a back a moment by the boy's excitement; then he did his level best to kill the boy's hopes. "Probably not. Lain is a special case, but you will probably be able to pinpoint anyone in a couple hundred yards unless they are suppressing their signatures."

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment for a moment before giving them a beaming smile and asking, "So where do I start?"

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo sat on the park bench nearby training ground seven while Sakura and Sasuke waited in awkward silence on the ground. After he judged they had waited long enough he produced a trio of scrolls from his jacket and said, "These are an analysis of the wave mission. They highlight what you did wrong on the mission and how you can do better next time." He gave them another hard look before adding, "Which of you will be responsible for giving Naruto his scroll?"

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other a moment before Sakura stood and announced, "I'll make sure he gets it Danzo-sensei." Danzo gave her a pair of scrolls and then tossed the last one to Sasuke.

Once the scrolls had been distributed Danzo spoke again, "Because of Naruto's recent suspension we are changing the normal training schedule. First, until Naruto returns team seven will not accept missions." The genin nodded, that had not been unexpected. "Sakura I am arranging for you to interview with an old comrade of mine. If you impress her enough she may choose to take you as her student for the next month or two."

"Yes, Sir." Her reply was firm, but she wasn't skilled enough to hide her unease from Danzo.

He briefly hoped that Mai did her job, then continued, "Sasuke. Unfortunately Kakashi is the only one who can teach you how to use your sharingan effectively. You will attend lessons with him every other day. If Sakura performs as well as I think she will at her interview I will accompany you to your lessons with Kakashi."

"May I ask why sir?"

Danzo's mouth became a thin line, "Because Kakashi acted like a fool the last time he supervised this team. I have very little faith in his responsibility at the moment." Danzo met Sasuke's gaze evenly for a moment before continuing, "On the days you are not studying with Kakahsi you will be covering a variety of subjects with me."

Danzo turned back to Sakura. "You will be at training ground fourteen tomorrow at ten o'clock for your evaluation, I trust you to perform to the best of your ability." He turned to Sasuke and added, "Your medical leave comes to and end the day after tomorrow. I will expect you here then at six in the morning."

Danzo rubbed his hand against the old scar on his chin a moment then finished, "Over the next three months I expect all of you to complete the ANBU poison immunities course. I will have more details on it the next time we meet." He stood and said, "You two are dismissed."

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto sat on the well manicured lawn of a small Yamanaka Clan cabin hidden in the woods less than a mile from Konoha and tried to focus as Fu tested him on the material he had been given to read.

"What are the main methods of sensing?"

"There are three main methods of using your talent as a sensor. The first and most basic is called passive sensing. Every sensor is capable of passive sensing to some degree, it is what marks us out as sensors in the first place."

"The second method of sensing is called active sensing. You pulse your own chakra and use it 'ping' other chakra signatures nearby. Active sensing allows more accurate sensing at a longer range and makes it much harder to hide from a sensor by suppressing your chakra signature. It also makes it extremely easy to locate the sensor using active sensing."

"The third type is called web sensing. It works by somehow creating a network of finely spun chakra lines around a location. The sensor picks up a signature every time they move across one of the lines." Naruto made a face and added, "The scroll was really unclear about how it worked."

Fu ignored the complaint and stared at Naruto a moment before finally pronouncing, "Good enough, we will start practicing your talent tomorrow."

Naruto wanted to complain that it was barely afternoon, but thought better of it immediately. If Fu wanted to wait to tomorrow then he probably had a good reason to wait. He had barely begun to wonder what he would do with his free afternoon when Fu added, "Lain wanted to teach you how to use a tanto this afternoon."

Naruto perked up immediately, he had spent he last week begging her to teach him how to use one of the strange tipless tantos she preferred. Naruto looked around the lawn a moment then asked Fu, "Umm, where is she?"

He gave Naruto a chilling smile and replied, "Don't you want to learn how to be a sensor?"

Naruto gave the red head a dirty look and tried to focus like the primer on sensing had instructed. A few moments later he caught a flash of Fu's chakra. He focused until the flashes came in quick succession and then blended together entirely. Naruto looked at Fu's chakra a moment trying to memorize its features like the primer had instructed. The first thing Naruto took note of was the strength, the red head's chakra was overwhelmingly intense; Naruto could barely look at it.

The primer had described situations where the sensor needed to remove a chakra source from their field to find smaller signatures. He was supposed to mentally 'cloak' the bigger signature. The first step of forming a cloak was to adjust how much he was sensing.

The primer had explained that every sensor eventually learned how to adjust how much they sensed, a skill called gain adjustment, so they didn't harm themselves when confronted with a huge chakra source. Unfortunately the primer had been rather unhelpful on how to actually accomplish gain adjustment, it was just supposed to come naturally.

When Lain finally got bored enough to flair her chakra to the point he could make it out, Naruto still hadn't made any progress. Naruto jerked his head towards where Lain's chakra signature made itself visible and snapped open his eyes.

He narrowly avoided the sheathed tanto Lain threw at his face. By the time he had retrieved the tanto Lain had already jumped from the roof and was making her way across the yard to him. She came to a stop right in front of him and happily announced, "I've never actually taught someone before, so I just plan to beat on you until you figure it out."

Naruto had a sudden feeling that asking her to teach him had been a terrible idea after all.

DTDTDTDTDT

Koharu arrived at training ground fourteen early and wondered what exactly Danzo was planning. Danzo could evaluate any genin without her help, so asking her to attend meant either he needed her for something or he needed something from her. Then Koharu's train of thought was interrupted by the soft sound of a footstep.

Another footstep reached her ears and Koharu instantly evaluated it. Someone approximately thirty five kilos was approaching her at a walk and they were not attempting to hid their presence. Koharu caught a reflection in from a metal trash bin and saw that whoever was approaching had pink hair. That was enough for her to call out without turning around, "You are early."

To her credit the girl's footsteps didn't slow in the slightest. A few moments later and the pink haired girl was standing in front of Koharu. She gave Koharu a small smile and said, "Genin Haruno reporting for evaluation."

Koharu looked at Sakura a moment before telling her to follow in a flat voice. Sakura fell into line behind her and the walked across the training ground to a small stone table and a pair of chairs. She sat down without a word. After a moment of standing awkwardly Sakura copied her and sat in the other chair.

Koharu pulled a bag of white and black stones from the folds of her jacket and sat in on the table. She gestured to the faint grid cut into the surface of the table and said, "Will you play a few games with an old women?"

Sakura paused a moment then asked, "Is this my test?" Then she couldn't speak at all as a sudden impossible killing intent flared around the old women across the table and drove the breath from her in a rough gasp. All she could do was gape like a fish and with half glazed eyes at the elder while hallucinations of a massive spider wreathed in dark fire danced before her.

Then when she was ready to do anything, even take her own life to end the pressure the killing intent vanished as suddenly as it had come. Koharu looked at Sakura with a trace of disappointment, "I am someone who has stood besides the god of shinobi for sixty years as an equal comrade." She gestured to the stone table and continued, "This is the only sort of comparison that can exist between us."

Sakura's voice was still unsteady when she answered, "Yes, Utatane-sama."

Koharu divided the stones into a small pile of black and white before pushing the black pile to Sakura without a word. Sakura took the pile and placed the first stone a moment later. Koharu placed her own next to it without a seconds consideration.

At the eighth move of the game Koharu paused long enough to ask Sakura, "What do you want?"

The unexpected question startled the pink haired girl for a moment though she did her best to not let her surprise show. Sakura made he own move before answering, "What do you mean."

"I mean what I asked." Sakura resisted the urge to bite her lip at the open ended question and stared at the board for a moment before deciding how to answer. Then a small smile spread across her lips; if Utatane-sama wanted to play coy then she could too. She answered in a bored voice, "I want to win."

Koharu's lips thinned into a small line at the reply. She pronounced, "Then you should have taken a better handicap," before placing her own piece. There was a sudden flurry of moves between the two of them as each made their moves without pause until finally Koharu asked another question, "So how do you plan to meet your goals?"

"I'll become strong."

"And when that isn't enough."

"Then I'll find someone who is. A forest has more than one tree after all."

Koharu paused a moment at the answer before placing another stone, completing a small loop around several of Sakura's. She pulled the captured black stones off of the board before suddenly smirking. "I heard you are quite infatuated with the young Uchiha heir."

That comment caught Sakura completely off guard and she felt her cheeks go hot. She wanted to stammer something, but retained enough mind to realize the old women hadn't asked a question. So Sakura just gave her an annoyed look for a few moments before placing a stone of her own. Koharu unfortunately wasn't willing to let the subject go so easily. "I'll take that as a yes. So what do you see in him?" Koharu let her smirking grin spread a little bit wider then added, "Is it his wealth? Maybe the power?" She paused a moment in false consideration before continuing, "He was the rookie of the year after all. Or is it just because all of your other little friends want him also?"

Sakura's cheeks flushed redder and redder under the stream of questions until she opened her mouth to protest. Then Danzo-sensei's lessons about controlling her emotions came to front of her mind and she barely manged to stop herself from saying something stupid. Her mouth closed with a click and she spent a few seconds gathering herself before giving Koharu a shrug and answering, "I don't know; those may all be reasons. My feelings aren't something so easily defined."

Koharu didn't look happy with the answer but seemed to accept it. They played silently for a while, each taking the time to carefully consider their moves. Six moves later Koharu saw the beginnings of a trap from Sakura and made careful preparations to turn it against her before asking another question. "And what about your other teammate? The troublemaker."

"Well, he is a troublemaker."

Koharu's eyes narrowed a bit but her voice was amiable when she asked, "Oh, not coming to the defense of your teammate?"

Sakura's reply was cold, "I've seen the looks he gets on the streets Utatane-sama. People hate him far more than a few pranks justify. Until I fine the reason behind those looks I have nothing more to say." Koharu's eyes went wide when Sakura put her stone down in an unexpected place and stood up. "That's the game Utatane-sama."

Koharu stared furiously at the board while the pink haired girl walked from the clearing. The trap she had seen was a faint, but that seemed impossible. Then she finally made out a small discrepancy on the board. A black stone sat where she distinctly remembered placing a white one. She gave an irritated snort and commanded, "Release!" The stone didn't change.

Danzo's unwelcome voice called out to Koharu, "She palmed your stone on the eighty ninth move of the game, when you were teasing her about her crush."

Koharu gave Danzo an irritated look before muttering, "What a cheeky brat." Danzo sat down in the chair across the table and helped her pack up the stones.

They sat quietly for a few moments before Danzo prodded, "What did you think of my student?"

Koharu bit back an irritated comment and gave Danzo a level look for a few seconds before asking, "Who told you?"

"Who told me what?"

Koharu didn't play along, "Was it Hiruzen or Homura?"

Danzo shrugged, "Oh who told me you were looking for a student? Hiruzen might have mentioned it in passing." Danzo spared a glance towards Hokage Mountain after admitting who had told him. He wasn't suicidal enough to mention why she was looking for a student. After a more than a half century of service old age had crept up on them all.

Danzo looked back at Koharu and had to suppress a smirk. If her eyebrow tick was a good judge then she was going to get the Hokage back in an appropriately underhanded and vicious way. Danzo resolved to be present for the payback if at all possible. Danzo waited a few seconds for Koharu to plot before returning to the original question, "So what did you think of my student?"

Koharu sighed and admitted, "She's perfect. She was able to keep her cool. She stood up for her teammate under obvious disapproval, and as a ninja in a family of civilians she has no clan to pressure my secrets out of her."

Danzo couldn't help but prod Koharu a bit. "And she was gutsy enough to cheat against you."

Koharu looked distinctly unhappy about it, but she agreed, "And she was gutsy enough to cheat against me."

They sat there quietly a few moments before Danzo asked, "Aren't you going to test her combat abilities?"

Koharu snickered a bit before replying, "She's a genin, its a given that she's terrible." Danzo allowed himself a small smile of his own when Koharu stood and said, "I want her Danzo."

DTDTDTDTDT

Sasuke stood in the chilly morning air of training ground seven waiting for Danzo to arrive. He passed the time wondering what his teammates were doing, before irritably assuming they were still asleep. Danzo walked into the clearing a few moments later and gestured for the Uchiha to follow him.

When Sasuke fell into line Danzo started to speak. "Today I plan to teach something that is not normally covered in the genin curriculum, but will become invaluable to you in the future." When his teacher fell silent Sasuke was left to wondered if the bandaged old man intended to pass along some bit of forbidden or esoteric knowledge.

Sasuke was loss to his fantasies of how this imaginary knowledge would help him against his brother that he barely noticed when the came to a stop in front of an old circular building. Danzo gestured at the sign that read Konoha Council Chambers and said, "Today you are learning about politics."

Danzo allowed himself a small smile when his student almost tripped at the proclamation. Then he felt a small surge of satisfaction that Sasuke didn't protest. He spent a brief moment wondering what his student was thinking.

The first and most likely answer was that Sasuke was considering how learning politics could help him in his pursuit of Itachi. Despite Danzo's best efforts the Uchiha's world still seemed to revolve around his quest to revenge his clan, but at least the boy had become a lot more effective in perusing that revenge.

Or the young Uchiha was no doubt considering how a sound grounding in politics would help him when it came time to restore the Uchiha to prominence. That was one of the goals that Sasuke had proudly announced to him after all. Though the boy didn't seem very interested in small horde of girls that wanted to help him with his goal, which suited Danzo just fine.

The last and most unlikely answer was that the boy was just being polite and giving him the benefit of the doubt on the choice of lessons. Danzo dismissed it as a possibility entirely after a moments consideration. He could read the body language of a Hyuga; He would know if Sasuke was just being polite.

After another moments consideration Danzo pushed his genin's reaction from his mind and led Sasuke into the council chambers. The ANBU guarding the door, a blonde haired girl in lizard mask who Danzo recognized as a new recruit from the Yamanaka, appeared in the hall in front of them before they entered the chamber. She gave Sasuke a pointed look and Danzo answered her unspoken question, "My student has no bearing on today's debates. I have asked him to attend in order to teach him a lesson. I will be responsible for him and insure that he leaves should it become necessary."

The ANBU gave him a satisfied nod and replied, "Hokage-sama will be informed." She waited a moment then vanished back into her hiding place on the wall nearby when Danzo said nothing further.

A few other early arrivals were milling about the chamber when they arrived. Danzo took his seat in the smallest section before sitting his can on the end of the bench. He turned to Sasuke and instructed, "You will have to stand behind me during the proceedings. You are not to speak no matter what issue comes up."

Sasuke met Danzo's eyes and replied, "Yes, Sensei."

Satisfied with his students response Danzo began to explain how the council functioned. He gestured to the partitions in the seating and said, "The council is broken into three sections. The hokage's council, of which I am a member. The clan council which is made of the clan heads and the civilian council."

"Each section has responsibilities of its own and often meets without the other two sections to discharge those responsibilities. For instance the hokage's council is concerned with advising the hokage in ninja matters while the clan council is responsible for keep the relationship between the clans civil and the civilian council helps maintain our economy."

A black haired man with a scared face sat down next to Danzo and inserted himself into the lesson. "They also are the source of sixty percent of mission's of B-Rank and below so we can't just ignore them."

Danzo took the interruption in stride, "This is Shikaku the jounin commander and head of the Nara Clan. He is a member of both the hokage's and the clan council."

Shikaku felt obligated to add, "I sit with the hokage's council because there is more room."

Danzo didn't seem bothered by the interruptions and continued the lesson, "The full council meets once a month to debate issues in front of the hokage so he can make the best possible decision."

"What Shimura-san means to say is that the council has no official power. Though the hokage's council has some say in electing a new hokage, but traditionally the hokage will go along with a strong majority vote."

"Tradition is not something lightly discarded."

The seats filled in rapidly as the time for the council meeting drew near and Sasuke was shocked to see that the clan council was by far the largest section. The arrival of the ANBU head captain brought the advisory to a total of five. The civilian council had eight members. They were both totally overshadowed by the two dozen clan heads that filled the right of the room. The hokage entered the chamber last, though Sasuke suspected that he had arrived much earlier.

The general chatter than had been filling the chamber since Sasuke's arrival fell silent as he took his seat at the head of the room and activated the security seals. "I call this year's fourth meeting of the council to order. Nara-san what is the first item on the docket?"

"There were concerns that the number of local merchant factors moving into the country of wave would destabilize its recovering economy." The debate drug on for well over an hour until the hokage finally ruled that extending Konoha's hegemony was more important that increasing the wealth of its merchant factors. Sasuke was desperately hoping that the next debate would be more interesting when the hokage asked Shikaku for the next item on the docket.

Shikaku stood and answered, "The funding plan for the Konoha General hospital has come up for review." Sasuke saw a small predatory grin spread across Danzo's face when he heard the new issue for debate. When he noticed that the grin was mirrored by a small smile spreading across the hokage's face his eyes narrowed. The two of them were up to something.

The hokage's voice didn't betray anything when he asked, "Would someone like to speak in favor of renewing the funding." Sasuke might have imagined the hokage's smile getting a bit wider when he saw a hand go up on the civilian council. "Councilor Nobutoshi you are recognized."

Nobutoshi stood and began without additional prompt, "As the director of the Konoha General Hospital I am proud to announce that we have met our expansion goals for the last year and have after two years of effort finally finished constructing a chakra resonance scanner."

Danzo couldn't help himself, he had to ask. "This is replacing the one that mysteriously vanished?"

Nobutoshi took the question at face value and answered honestly. "Yes, Councilor Shimura." The councilor went on for a few minutes more extolling how well the hospital had done their job. Sasuke thought the man was fishing for additional funding but wasn't sure.

Finally the hokage had enough and used a break in the man's speak to call out, "Would any like to speak against renewing Konoha General Hospital's funding?" Nobutoshi didn't seem to be alarmed at the interruption and retook his seat immediately with a smile.

The smile vanished when Danzo raised his hand and said, "I will speak against the renewal."

For a moment the Hokage's smile turned positively vicious, then it returned to normal and he said, "The council recognizes you Councilor Shimura."

Danzo stood and spoke slowly in a clear deep voice that carried well in the chamber, "In the past few years I have heard most unsettling reports that Konoha General was not properly discharging its responsibilities in all cases, but had no proof. So I stayed my tongue." Sasuke had to suppress a snort at that; He knew his sensei well enough to realize that proof was hardly an obstacle to Danzo.

"Imagine my surprise when the proof dropped right into my lap. I am in possession of hard evidence that Konoha General has failed to maintain records on or provide adequate care to a genin of the leaf."

Koharu cut into the pause of Danzo's speech, "These are serious allegations Councilor Shimura; has this proof been released to the hokage and acting head of military police?"

The hokage answered in a grim tone before Danzo could, "He has. His information has been confirmed."

Homura entered the debate next, "Then why have arrests not been made, such conduct is surely befitting criminal proceedings."

Danzo reentered the debate, "Unfortunately the abuses were not specific to a single individual or a group of individuals, but rather general to the entire organization."

"I see. Hokage-sama, with knowledge of this abuse I can not in good faith recommend renewing the Konoha General Hospital's budget without further review."

Nobutoshi finally realized exactly what abuse his hospital was being accused. He went with realization; he was being targeted for an abuse that had been subtlety encouraged for twelve years. It seemed so unfair he couldn't help but protest, "You're talking about the kyu-"

Only a sudden staggering wave of killing intent from across the room prevented him from breaking the third's law. Sasuke knew the intent was being directed away from him and he could barely stand. He couldn't imagine how Nobutoshi felt under the black pressure which filled the room. The hokage's voice had the barest hint of rage in it when he finished the debate. "He is talking about a genin of the leaf."

Danzo let a smirk spread across his face. He drew a sheathed knife from his jacket and insured that every member of the council understood the exact consequences of continuing to abuse the demon container. He held the sheathed knife high so the entire council could see it for a moment before tossing it to Nobutoshi. The Konoha General's director gave him a confused look when he caught the blade so Danzo explained in a grim tone, "So you can restore your honor."

Nobutoshi looked like he would faint dead away, but shakily tucked the dagger away. The hokage let the council sit in silence for a moment while Danzo retook his seat, then finally said, "I call this issue to vote. Who will stand in support of renewing the Konoha General Hospitals Budget?" Nobutoshi looked around frantically as his last hope died. He slumped and began to cry into his palm when his allies abandoned him to his fate. No one stood.

The hokage smiled and called out, "Who will stand against renewing the Konoha General Hospital's Budget?" The vote was unanimous.

The hokage concluded with a clear voice, "I will agree with the voice of the majority; the Konoha General Hospital's budget will be put under further review." After a moments pause he turned to the jounin commander and asked, "What is the next item on the docket Nara-san?"

"We are to discuss the arrangements for the upcoming chuunin exams." Shikaku looked over at Danzo and added, "I'm sorry Shimura-san, but your student can't remain for this discussion."

Danzo nodded that he understood and rose from his seat. He glanced at where the hokage was sitting and said, "Hokage-sama I motion for a five minute recess to escort my student from the council chambers."

The hokage nodded and canceled the security seals before saying, "Motion granted Shimura-san."

Danzo walked from the chamber swiftly with Sasuke in tow. When they were outside of the building Danzo offered a few parting words to his student. "Your assignment is to analyze the discussion of the Konoha General Hospital. Be sure to indicate what you think my goals for the discussion were and how I achieved them." He waited for Sasuke to nod that he understood before adding, "Dismissed."

"Yes, Sir."

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto followed Lain through the woods near the cabin until they came to a stop in front of a rock face. Naruto was about to ask why they had stopped when Lain brushed a hidden seal and the cliff changed. A giant fissure in the rock face appeared from nowhere and Naruto closed his mouth with a click.

"This is the Yamanaka sensor training course, colloquially called the crack. You will follow a path cut through the mountain behind me in pure darkness. Before we start I want to confirm something. You are a visual type sensor right?"

Naruto wondered what Lain was getting at, but answered anyway, "Yes, I perceive chakra as flashes of color and light."

Lain paused a moment in obvious thought before asking, "Then was your mother an Inuzuka?"

It was all Naruto could do to not stammer at the non-sequitur. "What! Why would you think that?"

Lain let him calm down a moment before she explained, "I have been thinking about what you told us last night. About fighting Zabuza. You heard a master of silent killing moving during combat."

"Yes."

Lain waited a moment, but Naruto didn't come to the obvious conclusion so she spelled it out, "I don't care how you trained, something like that is impossible for a genin."

Naruto finally caught on, "So your saying that-"

"That was you sensing chakra also." She saw Naruto's confused look and tried to explain, "Chakra Sensing is just that, a new sense. But when we are first developing our ability as a sensor our brains aren't equipped to handle another sense, so they try to interpret it through the senses we already understand."

She gestured to the fissure behind her and continued, "This course is designed to help visual types separate their chakra sense from their sight, but we just established your not really a visual type."

Naruto scratched the back of his head and asked, "So what do we do?"

Lain pulled a small paper bag from her bear pajamas and handed to Naruto. "Inside is a special type of poison that blocks your senses. Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, balance, even your ability to sense the passage of time. Its how I learned."

Naruto gave the bag a wary look, but managed not to make a face. A moment later he was able to reply, "Gee, thanks Lain-chan." in a relativity normal voice.

"You can't tell Fu." she instructed in a half pleading voice. When he agreed to keep the poison a secret she nodded and left him at the crack. When he was about to step inside the crack her heard a soft voice cut through the trees. "Don't die."

Naruto shivered and gave the poison another long look before opening the paper bag. It was an unassuming small black ball the size of a seed. Naruto poured the seed into his hand and stepped into the crack. After the first few steps the cave tightened until Naruto couldn't stand normally. Then he took another step only to find out the floor hadn't continued with the walls. He was sent tumbling down a near vertical slope of muddy rock. He finally came to rest in front of a small cube of red rock in the center of a what he could barely make out as a circular room six feet across.

The room's little light streamed down from the near vertical chute he had fallen down. Naruto briefly wondered if he could get back up the chute even with wall walking before angrily dismissing the idea. He opened his tightly clenched fist to see the small black seed of poison still resting in his palm. He shouted to the empty room, "I'll never be hokage if I can't do this!" before swallowing the seed.

Naruto took a seat in front of the strange little red cube and waited for the poison to take effect.

He didn't have to wait long. The room swirled in the faint light until everything faded into oppressive darkness. The darkness was nothing like he had expected, it seemed to press in on him from every side, crushing and devouring him. He tried to scream but found he couldn't make any noise.

A panicked Naruto tried to grab himself, but found he couldn't feel anything. It was like he didn't have a body at all. Unwelcome thoughts swam through his mind, 'Death. This black, its like death. Lain … Did you betray me?"

An angry thought filled his mind, 'Of course you did. I'm just the demon after all.' Naruto tried to fight back against the wave of despair he felt, but couldn't do more than feebly protest his own thoughts. He tried to curl up in a ball, but couldn't tell if he succeed.

When Naruto thought he would go insane a warm red spark of light flickered to life besides him. He dimly realized that the red stone he had been by was the first of the chakra markers in the course. But he mainly felt relief, that light meant he wasn't alone.

Now that he new how to look other lights flickered to life through the mountain. It was like watching the stars on a clear night. He thought it was eerie and beautiful.

Naruto tried to stand, but the stars didn't move so he must have failed. He cursed himself and did the only thing he could. Naruto crawled like a worm to the next star in line, a bright blue one that overpowered its closest neighbors.

Naruto didn't know how long it took him to reach the blue star, but when he finally did most of his mental sky had been blotted out by its overwhelming light. Naruto dimly realized that he was facing the same problem he had when finding Lain the day before. He had to cloak the blue star chakra signature in order to see the next signature in line.

The first step in forming a cloak was to adjust the gain. Naruto didn't know how long he sat there before the world suddenly started going dark again. Naruto felt a surge of panic and desperately tried to stop the stars from fading out. When he finally succeed the once bright blue star was a small spark next to him and everything else was black.

He hugged the spark for a moment, reassuring himself that it was still there before abruptly realizing that he had successfully used gain adjustment. He concentrated again and the blue spark grew into a small fire before growing into a star again. He mentally cheered before reducing it to a spark again.

He played with gain adjustment for a long time before he felt comfortable enough to continue with the next step of forming a cloak. He formed a mental picture of a sphere around the small blue spark then tried to raise his sensitivity everywhere else. He caught the flicker of another star in the distance before his mental image slipped and the blue star next to him flared back to life.

With a sigh he lowered his gain until the blue star was a spark again. Then he tried again. And again. And again. Until he could see all the stars in the sky while sitting besides a blue spark.

Naruto gave himself a mental pat on the back and started crawling towards the next star in line. He got a few feet before the blue star peaked out of the edge of his cloak and almost blinded him. He desperately lowered the gain and was left in near darkness with a pounding headache. Naruto tired to curse, but couldn't hear if he succeeded or not.

Forming a cloak wasn't enough. He needed to move the cloak as he moved to keep the chakra signature from blinding him. The cloak formed faster this time, then ripped apart the first time he tried to move it.

Naruto eventually was able to crawl his way to the next room without blinding himself. When he realized the room had a pair of bright yellow stars on each side he cursed loudly and repeatably. He had barely formed one cloak and now he was expected to form two at once.

The third room introduced a small green star that lazily moved across the ceiling. The fourth had a chakra signature which changed in intensity over time. It got worse from there.

**A/N:**

**This chapter got really out of hand. I hit 10k words and have barely covered half of what I expected to cover. So you all will have to wait until next time for Sakura and Sasuke to start actual training. And Haku's fate is still up in the air. **

**I really felt this chapter was more about Danzo and his relationships than about team seven.**

**I was really surprised no one pointed out how unbelievable it was for Naruto to be able to hear a master of silent killing. **

**I wrote the council the way I did because all of those evil council fics annoy me. **

**I put up a poll on my profile about whether or not Orochimaru should live through the sound invasion or not. I am pretty divided on whether he should live or not. One one hand it makes a lot of plot sense for him to die. On the other one of my greatest disappointments with the Naruto manga was that we never got a proper Sannin fight. **

**I'm still considering whether team seven should go on another C-Rank mission before the chuunin exams, your input on this is desired. **

**Some Clarifications: **

**I'm putting Danzo's age group at around seventy. Assuming they started around twelve that makes for approximately sixty years of service as a ninja. **

**In this fiction Koharu only has a shadow of her previous strength. In battle she would fall to most special jounin, but at one point in time she was s-class.**

**I have had some questions about how widely known ROOT is in the fiction. For this fiction the existence of ROOT is officially known to four people outside of its command structure. These are Sarutobi, Homura, Koharu, and the ANBU head captain. A few others such as Jiraiya are fairly certain of its existence, but don't officially know the secret.**

**ROOT was officially disbanded years ago. The reasoning behind this is to give the village an additional layer of security. If ROOT was somehow caught then the village could place the blame solely on Danzo for his 'illegal' military operation. This might be canon as far is I can tell. It seems more likely than Danzo being able to build an army under Sarutobi's nose. **

**Danzo's official position is a consultant and member of the hokage's advisory council.**

**Challenge:**

**I'm interested to see if anyone can pick up on all of the things Danzo achieved through his political assassination of Nobutoshi. To be fair several of them are hard to pick out from amount of information currently available. Here's a hint, at least 2 of his goals involved ROOT, and Sasuke will figure out one of the two that involve ROOT without realizing Danzo is the head of ROOT or that ROOT exists. I'll list my answers along with the best/funny answers I receive at the end of the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 8

Sakura and Koharu were borrowing the Academy's training yard while the students were in afternoon class. Sakura thought it would have been a bit comforting if not for one thing. Sakura was getting beaten. Badly. By the shadow clone of a seventy year old. The running commentary from where the real Koharu was sitting on the bench was not helping things at all.

After a particularly devastating kick to Sakura's stomach that left her rolling on the ground wheezing for breath Koharu brought the impromptu taijutsu spar to a halt. Sakura ignored the order and belatedly pushed herself upright and fell into a shoddy defensive stance. Koharu's eyes narrowed and her voice became a bit more aberic, "You want to continue? With that pathetic stance?"

Without warning Koharu's shadow clone kicked Sakura's feet out from under her in a sudden, explosive burst of speed. The real Koharu continued her disparaging commentary without care, "Where did those textbook perfect stances you showed me earlier go?" Koharu waited a moment for Sakura to recover enough to listen before giving her judgment, "Your taijutsu is adequate, if barely, for a rookie, but your endurance is pathetic. What are you doing for stamina training?"

Sakura tried to respond, but couldn't get any words past a sudden coughing fit. Koharu gave the suffering girl a thin lipped smile and said, "I see. Then I will have to arrange my own training for you." She paused a moment in obvious thought before her small smile twisted into a full blown sadistic grin. "You will report to the North gate at five o'clock tomorrow morning and every day after for endurance training until I instruct you otherwise." Sakura groaned mentally, but didn't dare protest.

Koharu waited for Sakura to gasp out a "Yes, Utatane-sama!" before she rising from the bench.

As if on cue the academy released its students a fraction of a second later. Koharu gave Sakura another tight lipped smile before snapping, "Get up! A Konoha shinobi should know better than to sit in the dirt in front of academy students." Sakura suspected that Koharu had purposely waited until the faster students were in earshot before giving her reprimand.

The snickers Sakura could hear from a few of the brats were not helping her mood at all. She stood quickly causing a few of her aching muscles to spasm in pain and gave Koharu a very fake smile before responding, "Yes, Utatane-sama."

Koharu didn't seem to notice the obviously fake smile and hateful eyes, or she didn't care very much about it. Koharu's eyes were locked on one of the Academy Students. Sakura followed Koharu's gaze to an particular academy student with a very distinguishing feature. Sakura couldn't help but quietly mumble, "...hair."

It obviously wasn't quiet enough, because Moegi immediately launched into a tirade of her own, "You have a problem with it? I'll bet your just jealous of my awesome looks! After all I'm the prettiest kunoichi in my year! Some flat chested girl with a giant forehead just can't compare."

Sakura was suddenly very glad that Danzo-sensei had helped to teach her restraint. Because at that moment, it was the only thing that saved the brat from a near death experience. So, Sakura stared incredulously at the academy student standing before her, and tried to think of something to say that conveyed just how ridiculous a prepubescent brat calling someone flat was. Unfortunately another brat with spiky brown hair beat her to the punch, "Flat? Moegi you shouldn't make mountains out of those molehills of yours!"

Sakura found herself caught between frowning in female indignation and cheering the brown haired brat on. Moegi didn't take the remark without a fight though. She wheeled on the brown haired boy and shouted, "I'll show you!" before making a few clumsy hand signs and shouting, **Sexy Technique!** Sakura felt her eyebrow start to twitch as the technique's cloud of smoke clung to an older and quite naked Moegi with a preposterously misproportioned body. She just knew this was Naruto's fault somehow.

Moegi seemed quite disappointed when the brown haired boy just looked at her like she was an idiot. Sakura was mentally cheering the boy on for being the only reasonable brat so far when he opened his mouth and ruined everything. "Moegi the boss's technique only works on perverts, plus I'm better at it." With that proclamation the brown haired boy made a few hand signs marginally faster than the girl and shouted, **Sexy Technique!**

Sakura's fragile control snapped she was already making hand signs of her own and when the smoke parted to reveal a well endowed brunette she was ready. She gave the boy an smile filled with satisfaction and commanded, **Demonic Illusion: Humiliation Viewing Technique**.

The modified henge failed immediately, then the boy collapsed and rolled up into a ball on the ground. Koharu grabbed Sakura on the the shoulder at that point and gave Sakura enough time to realize that she had just attacked an academy student. Sakura spent a few seconds wondering how much trouble she was in before Koharu cut her worries off, "I haven't heard of the Humiliation Viewing Technique; I suppose its a modification of the Hell Viewing?"

"Yes Utatane-sama, Danzo-sensei required me to make a number of variations on the technique as part of a lesson. This particular one humiliates the target over and over."

Moegi dismissed her sexy technique with a start and shouted at Koharu, "How long have you been here grandma!"

Before anyone could reply the brown haired lump on the ground suddenly shouted, "No! Come back boss; I'm cooler than Udon!" The conversation fell apart as everyone stared at the now crying boy on the ground. Moegi's snickers turned into full blown hysterical laughter when the brown haired boy mumbled, "...algebra isn't that cool anyway."

Koharu blinked a couple times then filed away everything the brown haired boy had said for the next time she went drinking with Hiruzen or Homura. It was a few moments before she finally said, "It seems your technique is quite effective, but perhaps you should release Konohamaru before he undergoes any further mental trauma."

Sakura canceled the genjutsu with a hand sign to Moegi's great disappointment. Konohamaru sprung to his feet immediately as thought nothing had happened and proclaimed, "I knew it was an illusion all along! Boss can't do Algebra!" He seemed very proud of himself for reaching that conclusion for a few seconds then he noticed the same thing Moegi had earlier and managed to react with even less tact. "How long have you been here old lady Koharu?"

"Sakura?"

"Yes, Utatane-sama?"

"I would like another demonstration of that technique of yours."

Two hand signs later and the boy was once again a heap on the dirt.

Koharu watched the boy squirm for a few seconds before giving Moegi a smile that made the young kunoichi shudder. "To answer your questions I decided to introduce you to a student of mine." Koharu turned to Sakura and gestured, "Sakura, this is my granddaughter Moegi."

Sakura gave the girl a small bow and said, "It's nice to meet you Moegi."

Moegi didn't return the favor. She stared at Sakura a few moments before finally asking, "Why would you want Grandma as a teacher?"

"Utatane-sama is a great ninja."

Moegi shook her head vehemently and protested, "She can't be a great ninja, she's old!"

Koharu's smile got a bit wooden at the remark, but she brushed it off anyway. "Sakura I believe its time for us to go, their teacher Ebisu will be along shortly." Koharu turned and began to walk away.

Sakura looked at the boy on the ground for a moment before asking, "What about Konohamaru?"

Koharu shrugged and called out over her shoulder, "Ebisu should be coming shortly, let him deal with it. Now come along." Sakura gave the shuddering brown haired boy a final look before walking off after her teacher.

They were well out of the academy before Koharu spoke again. "What did you think of my granddaughter?"

They kept walking when Sakura didn't answer immediately. She knew from Koharu's tone that the old women wasn't asking for a platitude, but still wasn't sure how to respond. Finally they came to a halt in front of the Konoha memorial stones and Sakura spoke, "She is a child. I suppose that is a good thing, not everyone gets the chance to be one." Koharu glanced at Sakura and wondered if the pink haired genin was thinking about one or both of her teammates. Sakura grinned suddenly and added, "She's talented though."

Koharu quirked an eyebrow. "Talented?"

"Henge isn't easy for a child of seven or eight."

Koharu frowned in thought while she considered Sakura's words. Henge at seven was hardly the realm of prodigies, but it was impressive enough. She wondered if she had missed that because Moegi had wasted the skill doing something stupid. She would have to get Moegi a gift to show how impressed she was; right after she gave her granddaughter a stern talk about propriety.

The thought sent Koharu into a sudden dark mood. She turned her attention back to the memorial; it only took her a few seconds to find where her daughter and her son in law's names were carved. She brushed her fingers over the names and wondered how they would have reacted to their daughter's unique henge. She had a sneaking suspicion that her daughter would have found it hilarious.

Koharu had a faint but genuine smile on her face when she turned back to Sakura and said, "The first of these stones was created on the day the village was founded. They are made from blocks cut from the hokage mountain and are carved by hand. We do this in remembrance for those who gave there lives so this village could survive and flourish. Having your name carved on one of these stones is the only thing a true shinobi of Konoha can ever expect to receive for the blood and tears they gave in service."

The pair stayed quiet for a long time each lost in their own thoughts until Koharu spoke again. "Shinobi, I want you to make an oath on this stone. That when that child grows up you will pass my techniques down to her if I cannot. That you will never pass them to another besides her."

Sakura paused to consider. It was the first time someone had asked her to swear an oath with the absolute expectation that she would lay down her life to fulfill it. She would never admit it, but that scared her a bit. She felt out of her depth, but there was no hesitation in her voice when she answered,

"I swear."

DTDTDTDTDT

Ebisu arrived to find his charge rolled up in the fetal position while crying his eyes out. Utatane-sama's granddaughter was poking him occasionally with a stick. When she saw Ebisu she gave him a cheery wave and said, "I think he's dead!"

Ebisu allowed himself a quick shudder at what the hokage would do to him if his grandson was seriously hurt, before forcing his feeling of dread away. After all it wouldn't do for him an elite instructor to show worry in front of one of his charges.

Ebisu pushed the far too cheerful Moegi aside and examined Konohamaru a second before canceling the genjutsu he was in with a surge of chakra. Konohamaru blinked a few times, and Ebisu helped him upright before asking, "Who did this to you honored grandson?"

"...Ebisu?"

"Yes honored grandson?"

"Women are scary."

"...It is good to know that the honored grandson has learned the third unwritten shinobi rule."

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto was a mess. His orange jacket and pants were torn to strips by his journey through the crack. Every inch of bare skin was covered by a mix of the cave clay he had struggled through and drying blood from a thousand small scratches he had gained over his journey. He was a patchwork of bruises and every part of his body was working overtime to inform him of just how much pain he was in.

But Naruto didn't care about any of that because he could see daylight coming down from the cave mouth just a few feet away, and it was beautiful. If only he could have worked up the strength to move those last few feet, but his exhausted limbs just couldn't get any traction.

Lain and Fu found Naruto laying asleep in the sun outside the training course's exit three hours later. They both stared at the savaged blonde until Fu finally asked in disbelief, "Did he crawl the whole way or something?"

Lain stayed very quiet, but mentally echoed Fu's question. She could understand crawling through the first few rooms, but after that Naruto should have been able to monitor his own chakra signature and use it as a guide to move normally. She suppressed a shrug she didn't want Fu to see and decided it must have just not occurred to Naruto.

Another shout from Fu brought Lain out of her thoughts, "Hey come look at this!" Fu was gesturing at the floor of the cave behind Naruto where a set of furrows were dug through the clay and rock. A few feet behind the mark was another set of gashes, then another.

Lain spoke what was on both of their minds in a frightened whisper, "Kyubi."

Fu shook his head to her confusion and frowned at the marks. He finally asked, "Did you sense the kyubi's power?"

"No, but what else could have-"

"I was keeping an eye on him with my sense the entire time he was in the course; I can guarantee that kyubi had nothing to do with this."

Lain shook her head and gestured at her superior, "So how else could he have left a bunch of claw marks on solid stone?"

"That is...A mystery!" Lain felt a sudden urge to pummel the orange haired jounin. The urge was redoubled when Fu gave her an exaggerated thumb's up.

Lain wondered if her senior was acting like an idiot just to irritate her or if he had some other motivation and said, "You must be really bored."

He beamed back at her like she was a particularly bright child stating the obvious and said, "Yes! And as a prize for figuring it out you get to carry Uzumaki back to the cabin while I hand in the weekly report."

Fu vanished in a body flicker after he finished giving instructions to Lain, leaving her staring at where he had been standing. She was so off balance it took her a second to realize what he had said and then she protested to the trees, "But...he's filthy!"

DTDTDTDTDT

Kakashi's single visible eye was twitching when Sasuke finally arrived to training ground seven. Kakashi put as much irritation as possible into his voice when said, "You were instructed to arrive at eight."

Sasuke looked thoroughly nonplussed. "Yes, I know."

"Its eleven."

Sasuke yawned and scratched his head for a moment, before suddenly snapping his fingers like he had come to an epiphany, "Ah! A cat crossed my path while I was lost on the road of life." Sasuke watched as Kakashi's eye spasmed and wondered why he had never done this before. He made a mental note to inform Naruto of the great untapped pranking potential that Kakashi's habits provided.

Before Kakashi recovered enough to speak Sasuke looked past him and waved, "Good morning Danzo-sensei. Did you sleep well?"

Danzo didn't let a trace of amusement color his face as he watched Kakashi receive a taste of his own medicine. He looked at the pair a moment before responding, "Good morning Sasuke. You look well rested."

"I am."

Danzo took a moment to sit down against a tree and produced a scroll to work on before speaking, "I believe you planned to cover basic genjutsu and work on his sharingan today?"

It was enough to push Kakashi past his irritation. He gave Sasuke a quick look that promised retribution before turning to Danzo and responding, "Yes, though I'm strongly considering some remedial stamina training instead. After all you can never do enough stamina training."

"I think we should focus on the planned lesson." Kakashi didn't look very put out by Danzo's response; he hadn't expected the remedial stamina training line to work. Now he would have to settle for torturing his student while somehow teaching a lesson about genjutsu. He gave Sasuke a small smile and knew exactly what to teach.

"Alright Sasuke what do you remember from your Academy lessons on genjutsu?"

Sasuke thought a moment before giving a textbook answer, "Genjutsu are a branch of techniques where the user injects their own chakra inside of their opponents chakra system to cause an effect."

Kakashi nodded, "That's mostly correct." He paused a moment to consider before continuing his lesson, "Genjutsu are split into three general categories based on their effects. Class one genjutsu or hallucination type genjutsu, which focus on deceiving one of the senses. Class two genjutsu are known as mental genjutsu; they assault the thoughts and feelings of the target directly. Class three genjutsu or ninjutsu type genjutsu break the general rule that genjutsu are created by inserting your chakra into an opponent. Instead a class three genjutsu generates an illusion like effect by creating a chakra matrix in the air. Class three genjutsu are unique in that they cannot be dispelled by the release technique."

Sasuke nodded that he understood and Kakashi finished his impromptu lesson. "For the next few weeks you are going to learn to use your sharingan to cast and pierce a large number of genjutsu from the first and second class."

"What about the third class."

"We will cover class three genjutsu later." Kakashi's tone booked no argument, leaving Sasuke wondering what exactly Kakashi had planned for the third class of genjutsu. Kakashi continued in an uncomfortably cheery tone before he could come up with anything, "Today you are going to learn a very special genjutsu! Konoha's legendary spot on the wall technique!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to complain, but Danzo cut him off before he could start. "Sasuke name three uses for the ability to project any circular image on any surface."

Sasuke froze a moment before finally admitting, "It sounds a lot more useful when you describe it like that. You can use it to convey information to allies without chance of interception. You can also use it to mark targets or to conceal something like a seal from an enemy."

Kakashi chimed in, "Although it was originally developed by a bored chuunin to annoy her team leader." Danzo went back to his notes as though Kakashi hadn't spoke. Sasuke just stared at him until he coughed and continued, "Just copy it with your sharingan."

Sasuke activated his eyes in time to watch Kakashi snap through six hand signs before commanding, **Genjutsu: Spot on the Wall**. Sasuke looked around for the spot, but couldn't find anything until Kakashi suggested, "Release your sharingan, your eyes are piercing the illusion."

Sasuke released his sharingan and suddenly found himself standing on top of a very large red circle that seemed painted on the ground. Sasuke canceled the illusion with a small surge of chakra. When it fell apart at the first bit of effort he gave Kakashi a questioning look and said, "Fragile."

"Its a E rank technique; I hope you weren't expecting much. Now cast the technique back at me."

Sasuke made the signs rapidly and commanded, **Genjutsu: Spot on the Wall**. Kakashi nodded and released the technique with a little surge of chakra then said, "Now try to make something other than a red circle."

Sasuke nodded, but quickly found out that modifying the technique to project something other than a red circle on the ground was much easier said than done. Each time he cast the technique he earned a small head shake from Kakashi and a bit of advice before the jounin canceled the illusion. Until his eighteenth try when Kakashi finally admitted, "It seems a bit closer to orange now."

Most of the afternoon was gone before Sasuke was able to use the technique to create complex designs like the Uchiha clan emblem that was currently projected on the ground beneath Kakashi. The one eyed jounin gave Sasuke a satisfied smile at the sight and congratulated him, "Good, your finally getting the hand of the spot on the wall. At this point I originally planned to teach you how to cast the technique using only your sharingan, but someone came late so we're out of time."

Sasuke shrugged at Kakashi, unwilling to give Kakashi the satisfaction of visible irritation. He turned and thanked Danzo for coming while pointed ignoring Kakashi before leaving the clearing.

Danzo waited a few moments before looking up at Kakashi and asking, "Did you really expect to start teaching him how to cast genjutsu with his sharingan today?"

Kakashi shrugged and replied, "I thought it would take him a week to master the spot on the wall illusion." They fell quiet a moment before Kakashi finally asked, "So when do you think he will notice the smiley face on his forehead?"

Danzo allowed himself a smirk and asked, "I'm impressed. Did you combine spot on the wall with Kurenai's infectious illusion technique?"

Kakashi just smirked in response.

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo sat in observation room adjoining one of Root's 'polite' interrogation rooms. The small but well furnished room was normally used for questioning individuals they couldn't afford to torture answers out of. Not that anyone had told that to the prisoner that his genin and Kakashi had brought back from wave.

The poor girl looked lost and terrified. Danzo sympathized a bit with her, he knew what it felt like to suddenly lose your master. It had hurt, and he had been a lot older and more experienced than Haku.

Fu had time his weekly check in perfectly, to the point that Danzo suspected he had somehow known about the prisoner from wave. Fu had picked the girl up from the comfortably appointed room they had kept her prisoner and then left the girl alone in the interrogation for the last ten minutes to go find a glass of water.

It took another five minutes for Fu to appear with two glasses of water in tow. Danzo noted how careful Fu was making sure who got which glass, but the girl was too distressed to pay attention. Since Fu had apparently chosen to follow the protocols for questioning a civilian or genin the drink would be laced with a mild calming agent.

Fu made a show of arranging a large black binder on the desk and opened it to the first page. He looked at Haku and spoke in a deliberately slow and monotone voice. "I am going to cast a genjutsu on you. You will only experience a faint tingling. The technique will help me understand your answers. It is important that you remain calm."

Danzo felt a smile tug at his mouth; Fu had gotten better. Even he had barely noticed when he had started slipping the girl into the Yamanaka's feedback trance genjutsu. Someone had started increasing the room's temperature slowly also, helping to build the calm Fu needed to work the technique properly.

"We can stop any time you want. All you have to do is ask to stop." Fu took a deep breath and turned the first page in the binder before continuing, "Lets start with an easy question. What is your name?"

"Haku." Fu gave the girl a smile as the genjutsu printed a list of information into the black binder. Her first feeling after the question had been a brief period of confusion followed by regret and despair.

"How are you feeling today Haku?"

"Better."

The stream of seemingly innocuous questions continued over the next four hours until Fu had build an almost complete profile of the girl's mental state. Haku was almost asleep when he closed the binder and said, "Those are all the official questions Haku, but I have one of my own. What do you want to do in the future?"

"I don't know."

Fu nodded at the answer and finished, "You should think about it." He rose and helped the sleepy girl stand. He escorted her back to her room and made sure the hidden guard was actually present before leaving her.

Danzo calmly worked through the stack of paperwork in his carry bag while he waited for Fu to return. Then he made Fu wait on him a few minutes out of petty irritation before finally demanding, "What do you think?"

"She has serious attachment issues. To the point she experiences near total self devaluation in comparison to the object of attachment."

"Is she stable?"

"Relatively. Better than what I would expect based on what I know of her past. I wouldn't recommend deploying her right away."

"Deploying? I was asking if she would be stable when released into Konoha's civilian population."

"Sir, may I speak freely?" Danzo nodded and Fu continued, "The girl has tremendous potential as a shinobi. Setting her up as a civilian for breeding purposes is a waste of an asset."

Danzo considered Fu's proposal a moment before dismissing it. Hiruzen had already made it clear that he was monitoring the situation and he would certainly intervene if he tried to develop the girl into a shinobi.

Then Fu said something that brought Danzo's plotting to a temporary halt. "Sir, I think that you should recommend to the hokage that the girl should be recruited into the general shinobi pool."

Danzo frowned. Hiruzen would be ecstatic to add the girl to the general pool, but would never force the girl into it. Danzo felt his eyes widen a bit with sudden realization and he gave Fu a measuring look before asking, "So what was her real answer to your last question."

Fu's face didn't show any fear at being caught railroading his superior's questions. If anything he seemed happy when he responded, "She will definitely ask to stay at Konoha. She also wants to continue being a ninja, but will never work up the will to ask on her own."

"And how do you recommend we push her to make the best choice?"

"Hmm, it might be best if she just happens to fill out the wrong paperwork. After hokage-sama assigns her a jounin I don't think she would protest that she just wanted to be a civilian."

DTDTDTDTDT

Sai tucked the ends of his hair underneath his huge black cloak and made sure that his plain white mask covered all of his face. When he was satisfied that he didn't have a single inch of skin showing he dropped onto the windowsill of Nobutoshi's office.

The man inside was a distant reminder of his formally well kept self. Nobutoshi's hair ran wild and uncombed and his normally pristine shirt was stained with sweat and other things. Sitting on the desk in front of him was the knife Danzo had tossed to him after the old man had finished ruining his life. The knife was still sheathed.

Sai opened the window without a sound and stepped inside the room unnoticed. He stood a moment just outside of the oblivious Nobutoshi's reach then spoke in a sympathizing tone to the haggard man, "It seems a poor reward for years of faithful service, doesn't it?"

The disheveled man's head jerked up and he nearly toppled his chair in shock. "Who are you! What do you want!"

Sai didn't react to the questions. He stared unblinking at Nobutoshi for a few seconds before finally speaking, "Someone who hates the fox." Sai gestured dramatically and continued, "Someone who thinks that your years of good service shouldn't be tainted by your noble efforts to rid us all of the little demon."

Nobutoshi looked wild eyed now. Sai knew from the dossiers that he had been given that Nobutoshi didn't really hate the container, he had just followed what seemed politically expedient at the time. Not that it mattered in the end. When Nobutoshi didn't respond Sai continued, "My lord is always looking for like minded men. Men like you would do well in his service."

Nobutoshi's face was a strange mixture of anger, fright, greed and excitement. He couldn't keep his voice steady when he asked, "And why would I want to serve your lord."

"My lord's rewards are great. Power, prestige, wealth. Serve him well and you will no doubt think fondly back on your life when you were a mere hospital director."

"Can he help me get revenge on those that betrayed me?"

"Every thing in this world is within my lord's grasp. Revenge against a few civilian council members is nothing to him."

For the first time since Sai had arrived Nobutoshi was genuinely enraged, "I care nothing for my former comrades. I want the head of Danzo. He was the one who stabbed me in the back after turning a blind eye to our efforts all these years."

Sai was smiling beneath his mask at the request. If he had been less disciplined he probably would have laughed in the man's face, but he didn't' let any of his amusement color his voice when he reassured the man. "An old cripple. Would you like him broken or destroyed?"

The confused hospital director mimed him, "...broken or destroyed?"

"Do you want the man broken. Left alive in his suffering as his allies betray him and his power fails him until he has nothing left but his despair. Or do you want him destroyed? Kidnapped from his home and tortured to death. Maybe you could have a hand it it yourself."

Nobutoshi looked giddy at the thought of torturing Danzo, but he decided the other way, "I want him broken. He should be forced to live with the despairs that he thrust on me. I think I'll even give him his knife back."

Sai thought it was a bit foolish to leave an enemy alive with nothing left to lose, but refrained from telling the hospital director. "Then it will be; there is just one thing more."

"What." Nobutoshi didn't look pleased that a demand was being placed on him. No doubt he was already imagining himself in his new role.

"My lord requires...a favor. Something to prove your loyalty to him."

Nobutoshi's face looked pained. He was suddenly realizing that the new partnership he wanted had its own costs and obligations, but his voice was surprisingly firm when he asked, "What must I do?"

"In the basement of this hospital is a cryogenic cold storage unit which contains among other things the last preserved genetic material of the first hokage. My lord would be satisfied with that, but wouldn't be angry if you were to show your … vigor for your new cause." Sai took a look at Nobutoshi's horrified face and reassured the man, "My lord is no enemy of Konoha. He will never let it come to harm.

Nobutoshi's face was still white and he mustered up the courage to ask, "And if I do not?"

Sai reached out and tapped the knife sitting on Nobutoshi's desk and watched the medical director squirm. He caved after a moment, "I'll do it."

"Bring your offering to the edge of the forest of death; I will be waiting." Sai vanished through the window leaving a terrified Nobutoshi behind. He needed to report to Danzo that he was ready for stage two.

DTDTDTDTDT

Nobutoshi shakily pressed his bloody finger against the security seal surrounding Konoha's cryogenic storage unit. The door opened with a hiss as the pressures neutralized and Nobutoshi walked inside. The room was cold enough for him to see his breath, though it was a far cry from the cold of the storage tanks themselves.

Nobutoshi picked up a transportation unit off of the rack near the entrance of the room and walked towards the first of the large metal cylinders that preserved the flesh of Konoha's greatest heroes. He pressed his bloody thumb against the top of the cylinder and snapped it back when the security seal released the container.

The top of the cylinder lifted out of the rest of it, pulling a small rack of samples out of the cooling fluid into the air in front of Nobutoshi. The one in the first slot immediately caught his eye. It was, after Orochimaru's desecration, the only remaining piece of the first hokage.

Nobutoshi pulled out a glove to cover his hand before he pulled the frozen sample from the rack and sat it inside of the transport unit. He looked down at the sample before echoing the masked man's assurance that this was for the good of Konoha.

A small smile tugged at Nobutoshi's face. He didn't really believe that assurance, but he didn't have a choice anymore; Konoha had betrayed him. So he would betray it back. His smile grew a little when he reached up and took the sample labeled Madara Uchiha. Then he took another sample, and then another. He moved through each of the cylinders, making sure to take a little piece of each of Konoha's greatest heroes to his new lord.

By the time he left the cryogenic vault his cold transport unit was heavy with over three dozen samples of every powerful ninja that Konoha had raised. He had even included a sample from the demon brat on the off chance that his lord could do something useful with it.

His smile vanished into a nervous sweat as he walked out of the vault. Even at night Konoha General Hospital was hardly deserted. Nobutoshi felt like his heart would give out every time he returned a polite greeting.

He almost collapsed in relief when he made it out the front door of the hospital without being questioned. Maybe the wreck he had become over the past week before he had learned of his new lord had been a strong enough cover for how nervous he felt.

Unlike the hospital, the streets of Konoha were almost empty. Most of the civilians were in bed, and the ninja rarely bothered to use the streets. By the time he had reached the forest of death even the soft sound of ninja hopping across the roof tops had vanished.

The sound have been replaced by a series of horrifying howls and a loud clicking noise echoing out of the forest. Nobutoshi caught sight of the masked man standing in front of one of the gates. The man saw him as well and waved for him to follow before walking into the forest itself.

Nobutoshi could barely force himself to walk in after the man, but managed after he reasoned that he had no choice. He walked through the forest gate after the masked man. The man stayed silent and kept just in front of Nobutoshi for the entire walk while the sounds of the forest grew louder and louder.

It went on until the snapping of a nearby twig broke Nobutoshi's nerves. He shouted at the masked man. "That's enough! I won't go any further."

The man turned and stared at Nobutoshi a moment before responding, "Very well, the samples." Nobutoshi eagerly passed the transportation unit into the masked man's outstretched arms.

They stood silently for a moment as the masked man slung the transportation unit over his shoulder. Then Nobutoshi called out, "It that satisfactory?"

"Yes, very." Nobutoshi's eyes went wide when the masked man suddenly snapped open a scroll in front of him and commanded, **Super Beast Imitation Picture: Murder of Crows**. Nobutoshi's screams went unheeded as the ink birds tore him apart. As soon as the screaming stopped Sai carefully canceled the technique, making sure to not leave an ink residue anywhere. He left the remains of Nobutoshi to satisfy the forest's hunger and vanished into the trees with the transportation unit in tow.

Danzo and the doctor were waiting for him at Root's clinic. Sai hit a knee in front of the division leader and said, "Danzo-sama, mission complete. I have brought the samples as instructed. Nobutoshi is dead."

The doctor took the transportation unit from Sai and vanished from the room without a word. Danzo addressed his subordinate with a bit of pride in his voice, "Well done. You are to return to the main compound and alert the third division vice captain to implement contingency plan 'rake' and then are to rest. Remain available for the next few days in case should I need you."

Sai responded to the dismissal with a sharp, "Yes, Danzo-sama," before vanishing without another word. Danzo spent a moment preparing himself mentally before he vanished to execute his own part of the plan.

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo appeared in the yard of the Sarutobi estate and was promptly surrounded by four ANBU. He cut the team leader off before she could ask what he was doing. "Wake hokage-sama there has been an emergency." Danzo felt a moment of satisfaction with the team's discipline when the leader abruptly vanished to do as instructed. He would have been irritated if she had tried to question him herself.

A yawning Sarutobi appeared on the lawn a moment later with the ANBU team leader in tow. Then Danzo did something that shocked everyone present; he hit a knee and said, "Hokage-sama."

That gesture of respect underscored the absolutely serious nature of what was occurring to Sarutobi and his ANBU in a way that mere words could not. It was more than enough to shock Sarutobi fully awake. After that it only took a second for Sarutobi to realize how exposed they were on his yard. He barked orders, "Dog form a perimeter around the compound. Danzo follow me we will speak in my home office."

Danzo and the hokage vanished from the yard in a burst of speed and were activating the security seals around the office well before the ANBU had established a perimeter. As soon as the seals were up Danzo started explaining, "Earlier tonight council member Nobutoshi removed a number of genetic samples from the secure vault beneath Konoha General Hospital."

Danzo made sure to insert a trace of guilt in his next sentence, "I was...ah, having him monitored by an agent of mine because of the the previous incident at the council chambers." Sarutobi frowned at the remark, but Danzo continued unabated, "My agent was able to follow the council member after his theft into the forest of death where he met an accomplice, a man in a white mask and black cloak."

"According to my agent council member Nobutoshi exchanged the samples with the masked man and obviously expected some compensation for his apparent betrayal. Instead the masked man commanded a few of the forest beasts to devour the council member."

"At this point my agent intervened and engaged the masked man in battle. He was able to retrieve the samples, but the masked man unfortunately escaped. He judged that protecting and retrieving the samples had higher priority than capturing the masked man."

Sarutobi nodded and obviously agreed with that judgment. The hokage was silent a moment before he asked, "Where are the samples now?"

Danzo carefully put exactly the right amount of embarrassment and worry into his tone when he responded. "My agent brought them to a Root facility since that was the only location he had access to that he was sure was secure. Where would you like them relocated?"

Danzo didn't betray any nervousness under Sarutobi's long stare. He was equally careful not to show any relief when Sarutobi finally said, "No keep them at their current location for now. I will have the cryogenic vault relocated to the main ANBU compound since it is apparently no longer secure at the hospital. Expect it to be ready within a week."

Sarutobi paused a moment obviously shifting thoughts before asking, "Now what have you done to locate our masked man?"

It was very hard to suppress the smug grin Danzo felt forming. A week as more than enough time for the doctor to implement the second stage of their plan and the hokage's concerns over the 'masked man' would help Danzo pressure him into an overall higher state of security. Even the notoriously frugal civilian council would be willing to support an increase of security funds if he played his cards right. Especially with Nobutoshi's replacement spearheading the effort.

Danzo didn't let his thoughts reach his face when he explained the countermeasures he had taken to his hokage.

DTDTDTDTDT

When Danzo returned from his trip to the Sarutobi estate the doctor already was working on the samples. Danzo activated the room's security seals behind him, then looked over at the doctor. She didn't bother to look up from her extremely delicate work to greet him, so Danzo took a seat on one of the lab stools and waited for her to reach a point where she had time to report. It was almost an hour later when she closed the lid on a full centrifuge that she first acknowledged Danzo's existence with a brief question, "How did the meeting with hokage-sama go?"

Danzo gave her a rare genuine smile and said, "We have a week before the samples must be returned. I assume that's more than enough time?"

"Yes. Danzo-sama, there is a chance that we can learn how to stabilize your arm by studying the first's DNA." It wasn't the first time she had brought that chance up to Danzo, but she seemed far more certain of that chance after studying the DNA for a few hours.

Danzo paused a moment to consider then asked, "Would it fall outside of the tolerances we established would go unnoticed?"

She paused a moment before admitting, "Yes Sir."

He felt a bit of relief that he didn't have to make the decision whether to abandon the plan in favor of his own health or not. He didn't let it reach his voice when he told her, "Then no. Stick to the original plans." She looked like she wanted to protest so Danzo redirected her attentions, "What are the chances of success?"

"Overall or with the first?" Danzo stared at her a bit until her cheeks reddened and she started explaining, "Where we have both a female and a male gamete our chances of successful fertilization hover around sixty percent. If either of the gamete donors were a bloodline holder the chances drop to about forty percent. In the cases where both of the gamete donors were bloodline holders then the chances are about fifteen percent."

"And that was for where we have both a female and male gamete. With about half of these samples, including the first's, I am attempting to artificially create a male gamete from other genetic materials, which drops our chances of a successful fertilization even further."

Danzo really wished that he had understood what she said, but didn't show it. He paused a few moments as though he was considering carefully before asking, "So what is the chance of creating a child of the first?"

The doctor considered a moment before responding, "We allotted enough material to insure success, but even with Orochimaru's notes I'm not sure I will be able to insure that the child possesses the wood release."

Danzo considered a moment then decided that their odds of success were high enough to justify continuing. "Very well. Have you determined which candidates are best for stage three?"

"Yes Sir. We have limited the pool to about a hundred who will each receive two fertilized eggs."

"And the chance of them successfully giving birth?"

"Each fertilized egg has about a sixty percent chance of surviving."

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura sat on the bench near the north gate and wondered what had the ANBU so worked up this early in the morning. After she had counted four patrols of ANBU hopping over the wall behind her one in a Frog mask came to a stop right in front of her and abruptly demanded, "State your ID and explain why you are here."

Sakura squashed the surge of irritation the ANBU's rude tone provoked and complied, "Genin Haruno, number 012601. I'm here to meet someone for endurance training." Sakura wasn't sure how, but she became suddenly aware that the ANBU in front of her didn't believe her at all.

He confirmed her suspicion a second later when he said, "I'm going to need you to follow me for further questioning." He looked perfectly willing to use force if necessary to see to it that she complied.

She was saved by someone dressed in a green spandex jumpsuit who had a bowl cut and a mouth full of teeth that literally gleamed. And that wasn't even starting on his truly massive eyebrows. It made Sakura wonder if she was still asleep and having a very bad dream.

The dream persisted when the man with the bowl cut asked the ANBU, "What exactly are you planning on doing with my newest student?"

The ANBU looked as off kilter as Sakura felt, but he doggedly responded, "I'm taking her to headquarters for questioning, she's acting suspicious and my be related to our current alert."

Before Sakura could protest that the eyebrows monster was a lot more suspicious than her, the man with the bowl cut demanded, "And how exactly is she asking suspicious?"

"She knows her ninja ID."

Sakura felt her eyebrow tick. "That's it? Its only six numbers, its not that hard to remember."

Before the frog masked ANBU could come up with a retort another ANBU appeared on the street. This one was easily one of the largest men that Sakura had even seen and spoke in a deep booming voice, "Frog what is the problem."

"I'm detaining a suspicious character Pig." Sakura felt a sudden urge to congratulate whoever had the guts to give an obvious Akimichi the pig mask.

The Akimichi responded slowly as though he were speaking to someone incredibly stupid, "Jounin Maito isn't the sort of suspicious character that we're looking for."

"No! The girl."

The pig masked jounin looked over at her, as though he hadn't realized she was there until the frog mask mentioned her then his eyes went wide. "Frog if you want to detain one of councilor Shimura's students that's your business." He vanished from the street without another word.

Frog gave her a final irritated look before vanishing after him.

Eyebrows didn't wait to introduce himself as loudly as possible, "Hello! I am Maito Gai Konoha's sublime green beast of prey. I like fighting with my rival Kakashi and breaking the laws of physics by punching things very hard. But today I'm going to help you improve your stamina and you can call me Gai-sensei."

Sakura blinked. Then she blinked again. Then she performed the genjutsu canceling technique. He was still there. If the jounin was offended by her reaction he didn't show it. He waited for her to finished before he continued, "Come along, my other student is already at work polishing his flames of youth."

The jounin began jogging away. It took Sakura a couple seconds to realize that she should be jogging after them. It took them almost half an hour to catch up with what appeared to be a shadow clone gone wrong. The boy was running on his hands and moving as fast as Sakura normally jogged.

Gai introduced them immediately, "This is my precious student Lee. Lee this is Sakura who is going to be joining us during our morning workouts for awhile."

Sakura almost fell over at the first words out of Lee's mouth. "Hello Sakura! I'm Konoha's beautiful green wild beast rock lee. Would you please go out with me?"

His teacher was grinning behind them as they ran, and Sakura was stumbling for something polite to say. She finally settled on a echo of what Danzo-sensei had told her on her first day as a genin, "I'm not allowed to pursue a relationship during training."

"That isn't a no."

Lee's assertion brought a small smile to her face, but she responded, "Don't get excited, It isn't a yes either."

Soon Sakura was too winded to speak, but she forced herself to keep running until Gai finally called for a break. To her incredible frustration Gai and Lee weren't even breathing hard. She and Lee took a seat on the ground in front of Gai and he started to teach, "Now that our warmup jog is complete we will move on to real training!" Sakura managed to suppress her groan. Running laps around the village was hardly a warmup. If Gai noticed her feelings he didn't show it, "Today we are going to work on our core strength. Sakura! I expect you to perform the leaf catching exercise for the next three hours. Lee! You are going to do the pole exercise using none of your limbs."

Sakura was left wondering what exactly the leaf catching exercise was, but Lee seemed more excited that ever, "Yes Gai-sensei! And if I can do that I'll do the two finger water walking exercise for two hours!"

Gai gave them a thumbs up pose at the response and said, "Alright! Get started."

Sakura finally worked up the courage to ask, "Umm, Gai-sensei what is the leaf catching exercise?"

As it turned out the leaf catching exercise was incredibly simple. It had two steps. Step one punch a tree really hard. Step two catch the leaves that fall off before they reached the ground. It sounded much easier than it was, especially after Gai showed her how to use chakra to hit a bit harder so she could have more leaves.

Three hours later a thoroughly exhausted Sakura collapsed on the ground next to a tired but still enthusiastic Lee. Gai had vanished for some reason or another, so Sakura took the opportunity to ask a question that had been bothering her since she had met the pair, "Hey Lee, why do you and Gai have eyebrows like that?"

"Ah! Gai-sensei says that having big eyebrows will prevent things from coming out of your forehead." Sakura nodded as though that was a perfectly normal answer and went back to trying not to throw up from overexertion.

Gai appeared a few moments later with two jugs of water in tow. Sakura gratefully downed the jug he handed to her, and thought that water had never tasted so good. Lee was at least as enthusiastic. Though Sakura couldn't tell if he was really that thirsty or if he was just acting like he normally did.

After they had finished their jugs Gai-sensei concluded the morning training session, "Good job both of you, but I expect an even better effort tomorrow! Lee the rest of the team should be arriving soon so get ready for real training. And Sakura I think Koharu-sama is waiting near the academy to continue your learning. Lets all do our best to increase our fires of youth today!"

Lee cheered at Gai's speech, "Youth!"

Sakura stared at their antics a few moments before gasping out a weak, "Youth," of her own.

DTDTDTDTDT

Danzo knocked on the door to Haku's room and waited for the girl to answer. She opened it a few moments later and welcomed him inside. Her room, like every other room in block A was designed to hold prisoners in relative comfort. It was nicer than several apartments Danzo remembered owning during his youth.

Haku offered him a chair and Danzo sat down before stating, "Your smaller than I expected. From the stories my genin are telling you should be at least ten feet tall."

"Excuse me who are you?"

Danzo rubbed the back of his head in an exaggerated manner and replied, "I apologize, I'm Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura's jounin sensei, You may call me Danzo."

"I thought that their teacher was sharingan Kakashi."

"No, I asked Kakashi to take them on a mission because I find it more and more challenging to leave the village myself." The girl stared at his bandages and was obviously drawing her own conclusions.

"So why come to meet me?"

Danzo shrugged, "Besides wanting to meet the girl my team has talked so much about? I am one of the better seal masters in Konoha." Haku blinked at the apparent non-sequitur so Danzo elaborated, "You are being released. A living stipend and lodgings will be provided, but in exchange you must wear a monitoring seal for a probationary period."

"I see, can I see the seal you want to put on me?"

Danzo's eyes widened in genuine surprise and he asked, "Oh, have you studied the sealing arts?"

She nodded, a bit embarrassed, and replied, "Master forced me to learn some of it. I know enough to recognize a tracking seal." She tried to make the last statement into an unspoken threat, but she was so timid sounding that it fell flat.

Danzo gave her a conspirator's grin and said, "A wise precaution," before lifting a small scroll out of his jacket and unrolling it in front of her.

It was exactly what he had told the girl, a very simple if elegant tracking seal. After all Sarutobi would never let someone who had been the subject of something more... persuasive into the general shinobi pool. The girl stared at the seal for a few minutes before nodding in satisfaction and asking, "What do I need to do?"

"Well, first I'm going to unseal your chakra which will make you feel very weak for an hour or two, so you might want to lay down before we start." He gestured to the bed sitting against the wall of the room the continued, "Then I can paint this seal on anywhere you would like."

She paused at the unspoken question for a few seconds before finally deciding, "Please put it on my shoulder." She tapped near where her upper arm met her shoulder, almost exactly where an ANBU seal would go.

She laid on the bed and slid down her kimono far enough to reveal a chakra lock inked on her chest. Danzo felt his eye tick at the sight. There was absolutely no reason that the chakra lock had to be placed on the chest; the fact that Kakashi had chosen to place it there merited either further inquiry or a judicious mocking. He wasn't sure which.

He gathered the chakra in his hand into a very precise arrangement before injecting it into the seal on her chest. There was a sudden popping noise and the seal split in two. Then each segment rapidly faded from her skin as her chakra flow restored itself.

Haku was gasping under the sudden surge of chakra flowing through her. Her eyes bulged for a few seconds before she managed to snap them closed. Danzo waited a few minutes for her breathing to steady before he pulled Haku's sleeve up high enough for him to work on her shoulder.

Danzo applied the seal in a series of extremely quick and precise brush strokes before inserting the barest flicker of his own chakra to bind the seal to the girl's chakra system.

After he finished applying the seal, Danzo stared at the barely conscious girl a few moments. After a long pause he activated Shisui's eye and said, _"Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto have earned your loyalty."_ He felt a wave of exhaustion overcome him and walked from the room without another word.

Outside one of his ANBU was waiting. Danzo nodded a greeting to the man before ordering him, "She will need to rest for an hour or two. After that give her the prepared package and escort her to her new home."

"Yes, Danzo-sama."

DTDTDTDTDT

The first thing Naruto did after waking up was bathing. Then he drained the water and bathed again. After the second cycle he reached the point where he couldn't tell if he had any dirt left because of all the bruises his trip through the cave had earned him. Though the bruises had already faded from a deep blue purple to a sort of sickly green.

After his bath Naruto put on his spare pair of orange pants and a white undershirt. Lain had thrown out his favorite jacket after the trip through the cave had reduced it to shreds. Naruto decided he might forgive her, eventually, and he walked out onto the yard where Lain and Fu were waiting. As soon as they came in range of his chakra sense he put them each in their own bubble of gain adjustment before increasing his sensitivity.

To Naruto's great surprise they weren't alone. A pair of suppressed chakra signatures were hiding in the trees less than a hundred feet away.

Naruto fixed a glare at the offending signatures and shouted, "Your not fooling anyone!"

Lain put her hand on his arm before he could do anything else and explained, "They aren't here for you. I always have a few watchers." She turned to the hiding signatures and called out, "Bird! Eel! Come introduce yourselves."

A pair of ANBU abruptly appeared in the clearing in front of them. Lain wasted no time introducing them, "The one with orange hair is bird; she's really kind and used to watch over me a lot. Though she's been really busy after she got promoted and hasn't visited very often. The other one is Eel, he eats really strange things so you should never accept rice balls from him." Naruto didn't have the heart to tell the excited girl that he could tell who they were by looking at their masks.

"And this is Naruto. He complains when we don't eat ramen, and is learning how to be a sensor." Naruto felt a bit offended at the remark. He didn't complain that much; he just had insured ramen was always available.

Lain paused for a second in thought before asking, "Why are you on guard duty anyway bird?"

If the question bothered bird she didn't show it. "Last night an alert was issued. The captain assigned me here to strengthen your guard until the alert passes." Naruto wondered why bird had emphasized the word captain. After a moments thought he decided she was trying to impress on them the seriousness of the situation.

Lain had certainly become serious. The normally happy smile on her face had vanished into a thin line and her voice was cold when she asked, "Am I needed?"

Bird shook her head and said, "If you were I would have told you already."

Lain scratched her head and chuckled awkwardly in embarrassment for a few seconds before changing the subject. "Naruto! Today we're going to work on incorporating your sensor abilities into combat." She tossed him one of those strange tipless tantos she preferred and Naruto felt a sudden feeling of dread.

Lain spent the next few hours amusing her ANBU protectors and Fu by providing Naruto with a whole new set of bruises. But those two hours were enough for Naruto to come to a realization, which he blurted out immediately, "You're using chakra!"

Lain grinned at Naruto's realization, but decided to play dumb, "Yes ninja tend to do that."

He shook his head earnestly and protested, "No not like that. Your using it all the time. Your using chakra to amplify every move you make."

Lain's grin turned into a full blown smile. "So you finally figured it out. The biggest difference between the swordsmanship or taijutsu in general of a genin and a jounin isn't something like better form or a more advanced stance. A jounin uses their chakra to increase the speed and power of every move they make." Lain paused a moment to see if her impromptu speech had taken effect. Then she added, "You should probably learn how to do it."

Naruto frowned at her. "Why didn't you just tell me this from the start?"

"Why would I do that?"

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura met with Koharu in the clearing outside of the ninja academy and wondered how she would survive Koharu's training. Gai's stamina training had left her whole body feeling like it was weighted down with lead. Koharu's sunny smile wasn't helping her confidence. The old women spoke first, "Good morning Sakura, did your stamina training go well?"

Sakura managed to groan. Koharu's smile got a little bigger and she said, "I see that it did." She paused a moment as though considered something; then she said, "Over these next few months I plan to teach you the two things that earned me the epitaph phantom. The first technique is something I call presence concealment. As the incredibly unimaginative name I gave the technique indicates it makes it hard for others to notice you."

Koharu gave Sakura a moment in case she had a question then barked off a question of her own when Sakura didn't take the opportunity, "How long are you going to ignore my shadow clone?"

Sakura jerked her head around and came face to face with a shadow clone of Koharu less than a foot away. She managed to not shout in surprise, a feat she attributed more to her general exhaustion than any sort of control.

After she recovered her wits Sakura studied the shadow clone, which was obviously demonstrating the presence concealment technique. Even when she knew the clone was there her eyes seemed to slide over it rather than focusing on it. After a few minutes Sakura finally made a ram sign and attempted the genjutsu release technique. It was still hard to focus on the shadow clone.

After a moment more Sakura turned to the real Koharu and said, "Its not a genjutsu. How are you doing this?"

Koharu gave the girl a smile full of pride in her technique and started to explain, "Are you familiar with natural chakra?"

"The inert chakra that fills the atmosphere around us. It dampens the effects of ninjutsu techniques after time."

"It does far more than that, but that is a discussion for another time. The presence concealment technique functions by spreading the subjects chakra outside of their body and blending it into the surrounding natural chakra. When others look at someone with a field of blended chakra around them they subconsciously think that whatever is inside of that field is part of nature and unworthy of notice."

Koharu paused a moment in thought before adding, "Its not perfect and its not invisibility, but it has saved my life countless times in the past."

Sakura considered a few moments before asking the question that Koharu wanted to hear most, "So where do we start?"

"The first step is to develop a sense for the natural chakra around you through meditation." Koharu watched as Sakura took a lotus position and fell into a breathing routine. When the girl stopped her slight movements Koharu gave her a final warning. "Sakura whatever you do, do not pull the natural chakra into yourself."

**A/N:**

**I'm fairly sure that Koharu and Moegi being related is fanon at best, but it works out so well I don't care. Also Moegi has those same creepy akimichi blush stickers that Torifu had, so it works out with the Koharu x Torifu I arbitrary decided on last chapter.**

**I'm fairly sure the Ebisu segment caused a bit of mood whiplash, but I found it too funny to not include.**

**I decided to make Fu into a manipulative person who can act like a bit of a troll when he's bored because his canon personality is really bland. **

**For this fic henge and normal clone are both class three genjutsu.**

**I feel really bad for Haku and Nobutoshi. Everyone keeps manipulating Haku for their own gain. But having her manipulated into becoming a leaf shinobi because of her attachment issues seems a lot more accurate than all those fics where she happily joins the group that killed her precious master. At least when she gets a jounin then they probably won't put up with any more manipulations from Danzo. And Danzo basically went out of his way to ruin Nobutoshi's life before using him as a scapegoat. I mean Nobutoshi is a weak willed jerk and eventually a traitor, but I still feel really bad for the guy.**

**Nobutoshi stole a variety of different sample types, some of which are immediately useful for Danzo's breeding plan, some of which are not. Though he has plans to use at least one abnormal sample (the first's) anyway. There might be an actual real world way to use a sample like that to fertilize an egg, but since I'm not a biology major I don't know it. If there isn't a way to do something like that then Danzo used Ninja Magic. The leaf having a sample of Madara was a last minute addition, but it makes just as much sense as them having a sample of the first.**

**And that was the last installment of the creepy Danzo breeding program story for awhile. It will become relevant again eventually, but not for a couple years of story time. **

**The Haku story line has almost reached an end until at least the invasion arc. I might include one more segment of her meeting her jounin or I might not.**

**Presence concealment is functionally identical to the way a gray man hides in the WoT books.**

**Other Comments Not really about the chapter:**

**I got a question about how ANBU was structured in this fic, so I thought I would explain how I picture ANBU divisions, including Root, working. Konoha has six ANBU divisions including Root which are all nominally under the command of the ANBU head captain who reports to the hokage directly. Each division is comprised of up to one hundred ninja and is run by a captain. That makes Kakashi's past seem a lot more impressive doesn't it? The division is subdivided into three companies of twenty to twenty five that are led by a commander and a vice commander. The rest of the division is filled out by the support and general staff. Note that in this fic most ANBU are not jounin. The vast majority of them are instead chuunin and special jounin. To me this makes sense because I've given ANBU has a lot of responsibilities outside of combat.**

**Wow these notes are way too long. Oh well, next chapter will be out in 2-3 weeks. Maybe I'll finally finish up what I thought would take 1 chapter by that point.**

Most people manged to pick out a few of the things Danzo achieved when he ruined Nobutoshi's life, but one person went far beyond the call. I have decided to reprint their unique interpretation of what Danzo was trying to achieve.

OMAKE: Why Danzo hates Nobutoshi

by Andelevion

Nobutoshi once passed Danzo while he was eating his delicious home-cooked lunch. Accidentally, Nobutoshi bumped into Danzo and Danzo was unfortunate enough to not be paying attention and the lunch fell onto the ground.

Those glorious rice balls and their glistening grains of rice were dirtied.

The pickled vegetables with their heavenly sweet-sour aftertaste crushed.

And the hijiki. The brown sea vegetable rolled its way to Danzo's foot, sauce trailing after.

Of course, Nobutoshi being the political-savvy man (or at the very least not a bumbling fool,) he was, made deep apologies and bought lunch for the bento-deprived man.

Danzo, also being politically savvy, smiled and accepted his apology.

But he never, ever, thought it was okay.

Danzo waited and watched for a day where he could wreak his vengeance.

As he tossed the ceremonial knife down to the trembling Nobutoshi, he thought viciously,

"This is for you fallen lunch box. This is for you."


	10. Chapter 9

Danzo was one of the last to enter the hokage's office. Sarutobi saw him enter and flashed him a half sad half disappointed look. Danzo focused on not showing his annoyance and took his seat in the shadows of the back wall. Sarutobi had been giving him that look ever since Nobutoshi had been killed. Hiruzen had obviously seen through his scheme and realized exactly who had ordered the hospital director's execution.

That had been allowed for in the plan. As long as Hiruzen thought that Danzo had Nobutoshi killed out of spite then the rest of the plan was safe from further scrutiny. Hiruzen couldn't afford to go public with his suspicions, and Danzo suspected that his rival didn't even want to. Two months ago Danzo had allowed himself a small sigh of relief when the hokage had put his public support behind the infiltrator story and they had both used it as an excuse to justify increasing the villages security for the upcoming chuunin exams.

At the time Danzo hadn't realized just how annoying Hiruzen could be just by looking disappointed. He strongly suspected that the hokage knew exactly how annoying Danzo found the looks, which of course made it even more annoying.

Danzo spared a moment to mentally mumble in an only half sarcastic tone about the things he did for Konoha before returning his focus to the hokage as the last of the jounin-sensei arrived. Hiruzen stood and addressed the ninja crowding into his office, "Though it should be obvious to everyone gathered here, I'll introduce it properly. In seven days on the first day of the seventh month we will host the chuunin selection exams."

From some of the mumbling it was at least a few of the jounin hadn't managed to divine the cause of the meeting before hand. Or decided to act like they were surprised for some reason or another. Or they were might guy. Danzo knew better than to try to listen in on whatever the green clad jounin was muttering about. He was old and wanted nothing to do with Gai's interpretation of youth. Danzo memorized each of the mutterers and resolved to have their files reviewed. A jounin of the leaf had no excuse for being surprised by an event which had been planned for the better part of a year. After a few moments more the hokage silenced the crowd with a wave of his hand. "It is time for you to submit your genin if you believe they are ready. I don't have to tell you but a genin must have completed at least eight missions. Of course they normally have completed many more before they are recommended." Hiruzen suddenly locked eyes with Danzo and said, "We will start with the rookies."

The crowd followed Hiruzen's gaze to Danzo. He smirked at the crowd and stood while mentally commending Hiruzen for allowing his team a bit of showmanship. His voice was absolutely flat and cold when he answered. "The Danzo led team seven of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki...Under the name of Danzo Shimura I recommend them to take the chuunin selection exam."

"What?" Danzo suppressed a snort of irritation when Kurenai interrupted the proceedings. He had hoped that the hokage's runt would speak out of turn. Cutting down the boy in front of his peers would have been a fair payback for how irritating Hiruzen was being. Danzo caught the hokage's slight wince at Kurenai's protest, and raised an eyebrow. The hokage coughed and started fumbling for his pipe.

The younger jounin must have missed the look of sympathy growing on Hiruzen's face and continued, "Hokage-sama, please let me have a word. I may be speaking out of turn, but while Danzo-san's students are all very talented." Danzo had to force his eye to not twitch; her tone indicated she believed his students were anything but talented. "They are not experienced enough for this exam. They-"

Danzo cut her off, "Where are your reports?"

Kurenai looked taken aback, and the room fell absolutely quiet. Kurenai broke the quiet a moment later with a quiet, "What?" that she probably thought was threatening.

Danzo let a bit of drawl creep into his voice, "The reports. The ones detailing your extensive observations of my team that make you more qualified to determine if they are ready for the chuunin selection exams than their teacher." Danzo let Kurenai mumble for a moment, before continuing in a tone of fake surprise, "Ah, you don't have them."

Danzo twisted his face into a mix of disappointment and disgust as Kurenai mumbled. He gave her a few moments to stumble before he asked, "Who are you girl?"

Kurenai's face went beet red at the implication that she was unworthy of remembering and Danzo heard a few snickers from some of the less disciplined jounin. The hokage's firm voice ended the snickers, "Enough." Hiruzen had either decided that he had humiliated Kurenai in front of her peers enough or he desperately wanted to move the meeting along before his formal robes caused him to overheat. Danzo couldn't tell.

"Yes hokage-sama, forgive an old man's senility."

"Perhaps we should reconsider your position in light of your new found senility."

Danzo put on a defeated look totally at odds with the satisfaction that he was feeling. After his little show no one would question his student's places in the chuunin exams, and Hiruzen had been able to shore up his authority in front of the younger, more ambitious jounin. That was even more important, since the advisory council's long term plans passed over the current generation of jounin when planning for the future holders of the hokage's hat.

He idly wondered how the jounin in the room would react if they knew that the pariah Naruto Uzumaki and the traitor Itachi Uchiha were both already closer to becoming the hokage than they would ever be. Then he was jarred out of his thoughts by something totally unexpected. Kurenai stood up suddenly and firmly stated, "The Kurenai led team eight of Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame...Under the name of Kurenai Yuuhi I recommend them to take the chuunin selection exam."

Danzo considered the situation. According to the latest reports Kurenai's team was the weakest of the three rookie team, but as a recon team they would probably pass the first task. They were just competent enough to place themselves in far more danger than they could handle, and he couldn't do a thing to stop it after his earlier display. He wondered if Kurenai realized that and was cold enough to sacrifice her team over a slight.

Danzo caught the slight paling of a Hyuga branch member in the back of the room and something else occurred to him. Every bit of intelligence he had read on Hiashi indicated that he was irrationally overprotective of his daughters, especially the one intelligence reported he privately thought was too kind to be in the ninja service.

There was a strong chance that Hiashi had warned Kurenai against entering her team into the chuunin exams. If she was going against his warning and Hinata was killed or seriously injured then he would call for her head. And with the black mark that the loss of the Kurama heir had left on her record he would get it.

He looked at Hiruzen and realized that the hokage had reached the same conclusion, and that neither on of them could prevent what was to come without losing face because of the show they had just put on. The hokage accepted the nomination with a smile that was only slightly strained. They would have to change their plans for the chuunin exams to insure that the hyuga heir is protected or they risked internal strife and the loss of a valuable if troublesome jounin.

The hokage's runt spoke up next, "The Asuma led team ten of Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi and Shikimaru Nara...Under the name of Asuma Sarutobi I recommend them to take the chuunin selection exam." Danzo hadn't expected Asuma's nomination either, but in light of Kurenai's it made sense. If Danzo remembered the dossiers correctly the members of team ten compensated for their lack of individual power with an excellent team dynamic.

Danzo thought they stood a solid chance of passing the team events, but would probably fail to advance in the individual rounds. Though, Shikaku's son would probably be a favorite in the biannual Root betting pool that always seemed to slip by his official notice.

Danzo suspected that he was the only one in the room who picked up the slight displeasure coloring the hokage's voice when he spoke. "Hmm...All of them...how rare." Then Danzo caught Asuma wince slightly and reevaluated his opinion. Maybe the runt wasn't a total waste after all.

The jounin-sensei of older team's quickly spoke up for their own teams. After watching all three of the rookie teams being recommended almost all of the jounin were nominating their own teams. Danzo mentally complemented the one jounin who broke the trend and refused to nominate her team despite the peer pressure. Hiruzen had recently given the women a very unusual replacement team member and it was obviously weighing heavily on the jounin.

When the last of the jounin had recommended their team for the chuunin exams the hokage was left with a bumper crop of candidates and the jounin started filing from the room. The chuunin academy instructor, Iruka Umino, caught Danzo's attention as he was about to leave the building. Danzo guessed what the chuunin wanted to discuss, but let the man catch him anyway. Danzo thought he owed the chuunin at least that much, the man had featured prominently as a stabilizing agent in Naruto's file.

Iruka introduced himself in a rush, "Shimura-sama, I'm Iruka Umino. I teach at the academy...can I have a moment of your time?"

Danzo let the boy stew for a moment and idly wondered the boy's reasons for choosing the -sama honorific. He decided it wasn't out of any desire to brown nose and came to stop. He took a moment to give the younger ninja his copy of Hiruzen's grandfather smile and said, "Yes, Naruto speaks of you often."

The chuunin seemed unsure how to proceed for a moment, but then firmed his resolve and spoke the heart of his concern in a rush, "Is Naruto really ready?"

"Naruto, not team seven?" The instructor reddened, but Danzo continued before he could speak up, "After the unpleasantness with Kurenai, I can see why you wouldn't want to express your concerns publicly."

Iruka scratched his head and said, "Ah...yes."

Danzo wondered if he had picked up that habit from Naruto or if Naruto had picked it up from him. Then he gave the boy a kind smirk at the reply before continuing, "Naruto has grown since the academy." Danzo saw Iruka's doubting look and continued in his copy of Hiruzen's grandfather tone, "Don't take my word for it, feel free to check up on him yourself." Danzo waved the boy out of the building ahead of him and idly wondered if Naruto had told Iruka he was a sensor.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura hung from the ceiling of her room with her chakra and did inverted situps. Her workout clothes clung tightly to her with another minor application of chakra. She was a bit proud of that, it had taken her two weeks to figure out how to keep her loose shirt from bundling around her shoulders and baring her midriff for the world to see. Of course when she had told the rest of team seven Naruto had ruined the moment by immediately offering to buy her a belt. She didn't talk to him for a week after that.

Sakura shook the sweat from her damp hair and did another repetition of a hundred situps. She did each situp slowly, making sure to work every muscle group like Gai had told her too. Apparently doing situps quickly like she had in the academy didn't really do her any favors if she wasn't doing them correctly.

After her ninth set of a hundred she hung loosely for a moment, trickling sweat into a small puddle below, and tried to catch her breath. Her whole body ached, and she was smiling. Gai had taught her a couple of lifestyle lessons while working on her stamina: Treat everything as an opportunity to improve yourself, keep working hard and you can reach your goal no matter what …. But the most important thing she had learned studying under Gai had definitely been unintentional.

If she worked herself to her absolute limit where at the end of the day all she could do was collapse weakly on her bed, then the nightmares wouldn't come. It had taken her approximately a second to realize that sore muscles were worth the price. Sakura took a sharp breath and started her last set of a hundred situps.

After finishing she carefully walked over to the wall and walked down from the ceiling. The one time she had just jumped her parents had been less than pleased. Her mother's rant about how she would break the floorboards had quickly devolved into the now infamous 'ninja or not speech.' The extra effort it took to get down without disturbing her parents was worth it if she avoided another argument.

Once she reached the ground spent a second rubbing her sore legs before glancing into the mirror. The last two months had left her face looking a bit gaunt, but in exchange her body had gained a layer of lean but defined muscle it had never had before. Her hair had grown out enough where she had to keep it in a small ponytail or it would end up in her face during training...She really needed another haircut.

Sakura pulled off her sweat soaked gray shirt and her baggy shorts and threw them into her hamper before glancing at her clock. She bit back a curse, she didn't have time to take a bath before she was supposed to meet the rest of the team at Ichiraku's Ramen. After they had come back from the Wave mission they had all drifted off into their own private training. Even though they were still doing D-ranks together and had group training once a week, Danzo-sensei had apparently worried about the separation. He had kept dropping increasingly obvious hints until they had established a weekly meeting to talk things over and build team relations.

Sakura started digging clothes out her closet. For some reason or another each member of team seven had decided without consulting the others to not wear the uniform Danzo-sensei had given them outside of missions or joint exercises.

She grabbed the set of spandex that Gai had given to her after her second week of endurance training then set it on the bed behind her with a small smile. She might be able to pull off green spandex a lot better than Gai and Lee, but it wasn't quite what she had in mind for an unofficial team meeting.

She eventually found a red cotton shirt that was embroidered with small flowers on one side. She gave the shirt a small smile before pulling it over her head. It had been a present from Ino for graduating the academy. She found a pair of white pants and threw them on a second later. Once she finished dressing, she gave the mirror another glace and gave her hair a few quick brushes while reaffirming her need for a haircut.

She shouted, "I'm heading out!" down the stairs before leaping out of her window onto the rooftop across the street. She could hear her mother's complaints following her as she hopped from roof to roof across the residential district. Once she had learned that the second hokage had mandated that every building in Konoha must be reinforced for rooftop travel, she had challenged herself to running along the roofs everywhere she went. She had started with only traveling on the flat parts, but had since increased the difficulty to only use chimney's and telephone poles. Sakura cleared the residential district and made a mental vow to travel the rest of the way to Ichiraku's using only telephone poles, and if she couldn't do that then she would run along the roofs backwards after lunch!

Sakura came to a stop on a pole a few hundred yards down the road from Ichiraku's and made a an odd variant of the bird sign. The sign helped her slowly push her chakra into the air around her, searching for the slightest push back that aligning her chakra with natural chakra caused. Eight seconds later she felt the push. She smiled in satisfaction, but refused to let her concentration waiver. Sakura made another hand sign and wove her chakra into the world around her. After a few moments of effort she felt the natural chakra begin to drain her reserves. She relaxed and let her concentration slip. As long as she allowed the drain to continue the presence concealment technique would sustain itself.

She walked down the telephone pool into the street and moved through the crowd towards Ichiraku's Ramen. With a bit off effort could see Naruto sitting at the Ramen stand already. He was wearing a pair of dirty cut up fatigues and had his pair of tipless tanto strapped to his hips. She felt an irrational surge of relief that she wasn't the only one who had cut their training time too close to the meeting time.

She walked with the crowd as long as possible on her way towards the stand. When she finally had to break away she made sure to use a sliver of chakra to silence her footsteps. And then when she was ten feet away Naruto said, "Did you know you're the only chakra signature in the city that randomly vanishes?"

He didn't even look up. Sakura pouted, "Your range increased again."

"It has to. Some pink haired maniac keeps trying to ambush me."

Sakura rattled off an obviously fake laugh that screamed 'not funny' and took a seat next to her teammate.

He smirked at her, "You know what would make your skulking ways more successful?" He didn't give her a chance to make a sarcastic reply. "You need a mask." He scratched his head and added, "Maybe a cape too."

Sakura didn't buy it for a moment. "Naruto are you trying to get rid of evidence-"

Sasuke's called out from behind them, "A cape and a mask?"

Sakura turned around and asked, "How are you doing Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke had taken to wearing a pair of goggles ever since Kakashi had introduced him to anti-doujutsu techniques by throwing a half can of pepper in his face.

Sasuke smirked at her and answered, "Fine." Then he turned and asked, "Naruto are you really trying to pawn off your superhero disguise on Sakura? Even Konohamaru isn't that stupid."

Ayame appeared to take their orders and deliver a few glasses of ice water to ward off the summer heat. Sakura decided on a bowl of miso and Naruto said, "I'll start with a deluxe Ayame-chan." before turning to Sasuke with a big smile on his face and a argument on his lips, "I disagree; Konohamaru really is that stupid."

Sakura grinned and asked, "Academy brat with short spiky brown hair and goggles?"

"Yeah he's the old man's grandson, you know him?"

Sakura shrugged then admitted, "I put him in a humiliation genjutsu a couple months ago."

Naruto started snickering, "That was you? Moegi's been making fun of him for weeks." Naruto laughed outright then continued, "He broke down crying when when I told him that I was awesome and could do algebra."

Sakura started laughing as well then asked, "Alright, now you've heard mine, I want to her about why you need to get ride of a cape and mask?"

Sasuke cut in, "Oh, you haven't heard of the exploits of masked ninja-sama? She is my hero you know."

Naruto made a face before protesting, "Oh come on it wasn't that bad. Or maybe you want to addition as a villain? We could call you pink eye and tell all the academy students that you have a horrible infection."

Sasuke didn't bite. "I heard Ebisu is on the warpath."

"I'm not scared of the closet pervert."

Sakura sighed and asked, "Are you going to tell or not?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and said, "Alright, you have to promise to take it in good humor though. I didn't mean it as an offense to females everywhere or something."

Sakura knew she was going to regret it but insisted in a firm voice, "Tell now."

Sasuke answered before Naruto could work up the courage to tell her, "You know that perverted transformation of his?"

"Yeah Naruko?"

Their was a moment of awkward silence before Naruto asked, "You named it?...That's actually kinda creepy."

Sakura stuttered and felt her cheeks heating. She tried her level best to keep the nervous titter out of her voice when she answered, "It wasn't me-"

Naruto cut her off, "Sakura's a pervert."

A dozen possible arguments ran through Sakura's head, but she took one look at her teammates and sighed, "I'm not going to win this am I."

Naruto replied in an insufferably cheerful sing song tone, "Nope."

"Consolation prize then. Finish the story."

Sasuke smirked and started again, "During one incredibly boring day filled with one to many D-class missions."

Sakura interrupted, "So last Saturday?"

Naruto was nodding yes, but Sasuke huffed indignantly and asked, "Do you want to hear the story or not?" She nodded and he continued, "So last Saturday Naruto and I were walking by the academy and saw three young goggle adorned faces being subjected to a horrifying sight. Their instructor was teaching anatomy, with charts and all. I was content to walk on by, but the hero in Naruto just couldn't let the injustice pass. He produced a mask and cape which was on his person for some unknown reason."

They turned to look at Naruto who was fidgeting awkwardly, "Um that was Lain-chan's fault."

"The sensor girl with the bear pajamas?"

"Yeah."

"I want a pair of pajamas like that." Naruto turned to stare at Sakura and her face went a bit red. She protested, "What? They sound really cute."

Sasuke huffed and said, "So Konohamaru's creepy instructor, Ebisu, apparently brought one of those models ANBU use for their courses to help explain, but when he opened the bag a transformed Naruto in nothing but a mask and a cape was inside. The instructor about fainted from shock at the sight and Naruto took the opportunity to jump out and give Konohamaru's little gain a speech before calling himself masked ninja-sama and vanishing into the woods."

Naruto paused a moment then chimed in with a correction. "It wasn't shock that made Ebisu faint; he's just a pervert."

Sakura nodded and quashed instant desire to protest out of feminine pride long enough to picture Ebisu's face. She let Naruto stew a moment before admitting, "That's actually pretty funny. So why were you pawning the cape and mask off on me?"

"Ah, that's because Ebisu is making a big commotion over the whole thing and trying to get me punished for my 'impudence,' but since all he saw was a henge he can't prove anything."

"So if someone else was spotted with the cape then he would loose face for jumping to conclusions about you? All right I'll take the cape if you can convince someone else to wear the mask."

"Okay, I'll call in a couple favors Kiba owes me for taking the heat when we did stupid things in the academy."

"That's even better since they will blame it on Kiba instead of me." Sakura suddenly smirked in a way that made Naruto flinch, "You know his mom will kill him if she thinks he did that."

Naruto suddenly felt extremely apprehensive about the plan to get rid of evidence. "You know the only way his mom would find out is if you told her or Hana."

It was Sakura's turn to respond in an insufferably cheerful, "Yep."

Their was an awkward pause long enough for Ayame to arrive with the food. Naruto decided to dig in instead of asking why exactly Sakura wanted to ruin Kiba's life. Partly because he felt a bit bad about helping Sakura with what had to be revenge for something, and partly because Ayame had brought delicious delicious ramen.

Naruto ate quick and put in an order for another before asking, "So is the scary old lady still running you ragged?"

Sakura took a sip of water before halfheartedly correcting, "Utatane-sama. At the recommendation of Jounin Gai she has started alternating taijutsu exercises and evasion exercises." Sakura made a face and complained, "I'm not sure which one of those is supposed to be the light day."

"Does Gai's clone still have a crush on you?"

"Yes. Though he still hasn't asked me out or anything. I think Gai might have a ban on relationships during duty like Danzo-sensei. Or Gai might have just warned his clone off."

"So no torrid romances this week?" Sasuke prodded.

Sakura brushed off her irritation. "You shouldn't make fun of him."

Naruto caught and undertone of genuine respect in Sakura's voice and bit back a follow up comment. That tone made Naruto hold off further comments until he had more to go on that Sakura's half serious complaints. No matter how much fun it was to needle Sakura on what she had introduced as the greatest crime to fashion in history.

Sasuke either missed the tone Naruto noticed or simply didn't care. He played with his goggles and said, "I still don't understand why someone who can't do ninjutsu hasn't been washed out of the program."

Naruto rolled his eyes and watched on as Sakura responded in a very cold tone, "Sasuke in a spar between you and him, he wouldn't lose."

Sasuke frowned at the reply and his cheeks reddened a bit. "Who would spar a taijutsu specialist. In a real fight I would definitely win."

Naruto thought Sasuke was probably right, but suspected that at least part of the heat in his cheeks was because Sasuke realized exactly how badly a taijutsu only spar would go for him. It was a point of embarrassment for Sasuke that his taijutsu had improved only marginally since the academy and that he was using his sharingan to compensate. The lack of improvement wasn't his fault of course. He had been busy training hard at other things, but it still bothered the Uchiha. Which was exactly why Sakura had brought it up.

For the next few minutes, Sasuke and Sakura quietly picked at their ramen while Naruto devoured his. Naruto called out an order for another bowl before starting up the conversation again, "So do either of you know whats going on between old man hokage and Danzo-sensei?" Naruto made a face and complained, "They've been making me run messages back and forth between them for two months now. And yesterday old man hokage asked me a bunch of really weird questions about Danzo-sensei and our training."

Sakura clapped her hands in realization and said, "That's what Utatane-sama was complaining about!"

Sasuke and Naruto stared at Sakura for a few seconds, before she blushed and explained, "She's been complaining off and on about 'pig-headed men acting like children' for awhile now. Apparently she's really fed up playing peacemaker."

Sasuke's frown was back and he asked, "Why do you want to know?"

Naruto took a sip of water and answered, "I don't really have a reason; I just want to know whats going on." Naruto scratched his head and continued, "When Lain and Fu showed up to help me with training while I was suspended I was almost certain that the old man had sent them. You know, as a bit of under the table help since he didn't agree with the suspension or something. But yesterday he didn't seem to know who they were."

The three of them spent a few minutes in quiet consideration before Sasuke said, "He could just be denying it in case someone complains."

"No he definitely wasn't."

"Isn't that a bit presumptuous? Thinking you can get a clear read on the hokage?"

Naruto shook his head and explained, "I'm not really sure why, but he lets his guard down around me." Sasuke opened his mouth to protest that the hokage's apparent relaxation was just an illusion, but Naruto cut him off, "I might be a lot more observant now than I was before-"

Sasuke interrupted and smirked. "That's an understatement."

Naruto ignored the jibe and doggedly continued, "-But I remember him acting the same way even when I would meet him during my academy years. He really relaxes around me; I just wish I knew why."

"So who do you think sent your temporary instructors?"

Naruto didn't hesitate, "Either Danzo-sensei or Kakashi. I'm leaning towards Danzo-sensei because they obviously had his permission, and I think he would have refused anything Kakashi set up for me on general principle."

Sasuke nodded and smirked, "Danzo-sensei is still going out of his way to express just how dissatisfied he was with the wave mission."

Sakura frowned for a moment then protested, "I just don't buy it. Why would he suspend you in the first place if he was just going to assign someone to teach you during the suspension?"

Naruto shrugged and said, "I don't know. Maybe regulations required it."

"No. A jounin-sensei has total control over any and all discipline his genin require. Even hokage-sama can't do anything about it short of relieving the jounin."

Sasuke finally voiced his opinion in a very neutral tone, "It is possible that their current hostility is related to the recent assassination of the hospital director."

"Wait the director was assassinated? Danzo-sensei told us that he committed suicide."

Sasuke sighed and said, "Naruto you need to read more into these things. Don't you remember how wound up the village was for a couple days after the director died? They wouldn't have reacted like that for a suicide."

Naruto nodded in sudden realization, "They reported it as a suicide because admitting a successful assassination occurred makes us look weak to the other countries."

"Exactly."

Sakura nodded slowly as she thought through Naruto's logic, then she asked, "But why would that cause hostility between the hokage and Danzo-sensei?"

Sasuke paused for a moment then said, "Danzo-sensei is apparently well known for constantly wanted to increase the village's security. The hokage might just be frustrated because this assassination proves him right." Sasuke frowned again and added, "Or it could be because Danzo-sensei lead the council in embarrassing the director a few days before he died. Embarrassing the man was fine while he was alive, but after a murder it probably left a bad taste in the hokage's mouth that he is taking out on sensei."

Naruto ran his finger through the bottom of his empty ramen bowl and said, "I just thought of something-"

"Shocker."

Naruto frowned at Sasuke's interruption and continued, "Danzo-sensei is our teacher, but he made Kakashi take us on missions and he still has him helping to train Sasuke with the sharingan. Before wave our sensei was assigning a jounin to do what amounts to babysitting while we do D-ranks. That's way outside of standard operating procedure. Especially since the jounin in question is the legendary Sharingan Kakashi."

Sakura knew she was going to regret it the second it came out of her mouth, but she asked, "What do you think is going on?"

"You know how Kakashi used to be in ANBU? Well I think he still is. Danzo-sensei is the head of a super secret ANBU branch and one-eye works for him. That's why Danzo-sensei can order Kakashi around!"

Sasuke shot it down immediately "No way. I'm not sure why Kakashi is helping us, but its definitely not because Danzo-sensei is ordering him to. He acts contrary to Danzo-sensei's interests way to often."

Sakura cut Naruto's reply off, "He has a personal stake." Sakura smiled bitterly and continued, "I looked up what happened to his team when he first started helping Danzo-sensei teaching us. He and the rest of his genin team were caught up in the third war. A lot of what happened is still classified, but towards the end they were sent on a mission that killed Obito Uchiha and left Kakashi with his sharingan. I'm fairly sure that mission is the reason that their third teammate left the village later, but was never marked as a missing ninja."

Naruto replied first, "So you're saying that he's helping because of some unresolved guilt towards the Uchiha?"

"I think so. Of course he really is the only one that can teach Sasuke to use the sharingan, so he could just be here on the hokage's orders."

Ayame picked exactly the right moment to bring Naruto another bowl of Ramen, and his teammates watched in horror as he made it disappear. A few seconds later Naruto smiled contently at the bottom of the bowel as though he hadn't just made the Akimichi look like a bunch of amatuers when it came to eating.

Sasuke stood abruptly and put enough ryo on the counter to pay for the entire team's meal. Neither Sakura or Naruto complained, they had been quietly informed of exactly how wealthy the sole heir of the Uchiha clan really was.

Sakura stood up and Naruto followed after a quick mournful look at the empty ramen bowls. To him eating ramen was a dilemma. He wanted to eat it quickly because it was delicious, but then it was gone and he couldn't eat it anymore.

They were about to part when Sasuke suddenly said, "One more thing Naruto."

"Yes?"

"Does the term jinchuuriki mean anything to you?"

Naruto frowned in confusion a moment then said, "No, should it?"

"Don't worry it is just something I ran across."

Naruto nodded in acceptance before vanishing in a body-flicker. Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance and asked, "Do you think he didn't tell us he could use body-flicker just to annoy me?"

"Probably." They both stood quietly a moment. Finally Sakura asked, "What do you think?"

"He definitely didn't recognize the term. He's not good enough to fake something like that."

"So does he not know or is your guess wrong?"

"I don't know. I think he knows whatever secret is hanging about him, but I'm almost certain that I'm correct. He fits the profile and the family library confirmed that it has always been entrusted to an Uzumaki."

"The files showed that he isn't an Uzumaki."

"They're wrong. I can't tell you why now, but I can see the truth on his face." Sakura thought that the joke, if that's what it was, fell flat.

They both started fishing for their wallets and paid their bills before leaving the ramen stand. Just when they were about to part ways Sakura asked, "So what do you really think is going on between the hokage and Danzo-sensei?"

"Hmm...I think Danzo-sensei got caught doing something illegal, but the hokage doesn't want to make it public."

"Then why-"

"It's a ninja village, everyone has secrets. Unearthing sensei's doesn't do anything to advance our goals and might bring a lot of trouble with it."

"That sounds strange coming from the one who is digging into Naruto's secrets."

"That is different."

"Why, because you are the one who is curious?"

Sasuke frowned. "Maybe."

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto came to stop outside of his apartment. The street was almost deserted, most people who lived in his part of town worked long hours or wer in the ninja force. Which made it easy to pick out the small fluctuations of chakra caused by the genjutsu being cast on him, and even easier to pick out Iruka's chakra signature waiting on the small overhang that kept the rain off his door.

He waited for Iruka to complete what he suspected was a false surroundings technique. Then looked straight at the chuunin and asked, "So what's up Iruka-sensei?"

The chunnin almost fell off the building and the genjutsu around Naruto fell apart totally. The chuunin hopped down after recovering his balance. "Since when can you use the genjutsu cancel technique at all, much less signlessly?"

Naruto smirked at Iruka and asked, "What makes you think that I used the cancel technique?"

Iruka gave him a puzzled look and Naruto explained, "Fu has been helping whenever Lain is either bored or distracted. He's started teaching me to break genjutsu using my chakra sense."

Iruka's eyes went wide and she whispered, "The sense leaning method?"

Naruto shrugged and asked, "What's that?"

Iruka slipped into his academy lecture voice and explained, "You know the general release technique?" He waited for Naruto to nod before continuing, "Well there are a couple other, more advanced ways to dispel a genjutsu. The sense leaning method involves using a sense that is not affected by the genjutsu to make the genjutsu collapse on itself." He looked at Naruto's blank face and wondered how exactly his former student was learning something if he didn't even understand how it worked. The lecturer in him took over and he continued, "Imagine someone uses a genjutsu that makes you think your buried underground. Normally you would either need to perform a sign less release technique or hope someone saves you."

He stared at Naruto, trying to determine if the genin was following his lecture and kept speaking, "The normal release technique uses a pulse of chakra to break the illusion. The sense leaning technique is different. Instead of trying to break the technique with brute force you trick the technique into breaking itself by asking a question it can't answer. The person buried underground thinks 'Why can't I taste the dirt?' The genjutsu tries to answer that question and tears itself apart in the process."

He finished, "Its a bit more complicated than that of course, but that's the basics."

Naruto stared at him a moment before asking, "So can you use the sense leaning method?"

Iruka stuttered a moment before admitting, "No. Normally it isn't learned by anyone other than genjutsu specialist or the Yamanaka Clan."

"Why's that?"

Naruto had a moment to realize he had provoked the historian in Iruka before the academy instructor started lecturing again, "Well genjutsu specialists learn it because it expands their options when confronting a genjutsu, but otherwise it isn't more effective than the normal release technique. And its much more difficult to learn than the normal release technique."

He took a breath and continued, "The Yamanaka Clan learn it because of an interesting bit of history. The Yamanaka weren't always famous for their mind techniques. The original Yamanaka were a trio of brothers who were recognized as a clan due to their unique mental sense. Before the development of their possession techniques, their mental sense wasn't exactly thought to be useless, but no one recognized the true potential until the middle brother's son managed to combine their mental sense with the sense leaning technique to easily counter most genjutsu. The second son used that discovery to almost single highhandedly bring his clan to prominence at the expense of the Kurama Clan."

Iruka suddenly had a teasing smile and concluded, "I think your familiar with his granddaughter?"

"Ino-chan's grandfather sounds scary."

"I've never been so happy to see Inochi as I was after the time Ino's grandfather attended a parent teacher meeting." Iruka gave an exaggerated shudder and continued, "I'm surprised they are teaching you to use it with your chakra sense. You must be a great sensor if you can get that to work."

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, I'm mediocre at best. Fu probably just taught me because he thought it would help me improve my control." Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment and held it open for Iruka.

Naruto didn't quite smirk at his academy teacher's expression. "I cleaned up a little."

Iruka nodded as though he had expected Naruto to have an orderly room and took a seat on one of Naruto's chairs when the blonde offered. He started glancing through the the pile of papers stacked neatly on the kitchen table while Naruto fiddled with his kitchen cabinets a moment before asking, "Would you like tea?"

Naruto shrugged when Iruka politely turned him down and turned on his kettle anyway. He grabbed the seat across the table from Iruka and said, "You know if those were classified you would be in a lot of trouble."

Iruka's cheeks reddened a bit at the jab, but he brushed it away with a shrug. "You would never leave classified materials out, plus teachers are aloud to snoop."

"Says right so in your contract?"

"Exactly. So you're memorizing types of seals? Your jounin must have a lot of faith in you if he's showing you things like this." He tapped a paper where a very complex seal was inked, and continued, "Only about half of these were covered in the sealing course I took before becoming an academy instructor. Is your teacher making your decipher them or are you just learning to recognize them?"

Naruto decide just a little bit of bragging was in order and tapped the page Iruka was looking. "This is an intermittent burst tracking seal. It leaves a small chakra trail that a sensor can use to track a target." Naruto allowed a smirk to cross his face and scratched the back of his head before admitting, "And I wrote it."

Iruka tried to keep his face straight, but it moved enough for Naruto to tell that his academy instructor didn't really believe him. Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit it response, but he didn't make anything of it. Though his voice may have been just a bit rough when he asked, "What did you need again Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka didn't react to the tone. "Ah, I just realized we hadn't talked for almost a month so I decided to come visit."

Naruto nodded and they made small talk until Iruka left a few minutes later. Naruto saw him out before pouring himself a cup of tea. He frowned into his teacup and said, "Iruka-sensei, you liar." He took a long drink of his tea before speaking he started thinking aloud, "Iruka-sensei was here to test me...but why?" He paused a moment before deciding, "Danzo-sensei has nominated us for the chuunin exams."

Naruto drained his teacup before leaving it in the sink, and went to change into his uniform. The heavily reinforced fabric seemed strange after he had spent so long without it. He pulled at it a moment to stretch it out the fabric before he walked out of his apartment. He locked it and sent a burst of chakra through the key to arm the security seal that he had found in one of the scrolls Danzo-sensei had lent him.

Naruto slipped his keys back into one of his uniform's pouches before walking towards the meeting place Danzo-sensei had decided on. Naruto could hear Danzo and Jiraiya arguing inside, and spent a brief moment wondering why they hadn't put up the security seals before he knocked politely on the door. The argument inside died down immediately and a few seconds later Jiraiya opened the door for him.

Jiraiya announced, "The brat's here." And Naruto walked past Jiraiya without reacting to his totally unnecessary introduction. Danzo didn't bat an eye at the scene and motioned for Naruto to take a seat on the couch that ran along the wall of the room. Danzo waited a few moments for Jiraiya to close the door and actually activate the security seals around the room before he asked, "So are you ready to proceed?"

Naruto nodded and started pulling off his jacket. By the time Naruto had his shirt off Jiraiya was already rummaging through the sealing supplies he had laid out on the table. He pulled a small pot of ink and a thin brush from one of the trays, only to find Naruto staring at him with his hand outstretched.

Jiraiya stared at Naruto for a moment before asking, "Alright, what?"

"I want to see the seal diagram."

Jiraiya took a quick glance at Danzo before he started muttering about cocky brats and seal masters. It took him a few more moments of vitriol before he produced the diagram from one of his pouches and handed it over with a warning, "Keep it closed for now, I'm inspecting the foxes seal for any conflicts I might have missed last time before I apply that thing."

Naruto nodded. He might not be very talented a sealing, but he knew enough to realize just how bad a seal conflict with the kyubi's seal could end up. He had read one cautionary tale about a novice who stole his master's seal matrixs and applied them to himself. The conflicts between the different matrixs somehow changed all of the charka in the novices system into fire elemental chakra. If something like that occurred with the kyubis chakra then the name fire country might become literal.

He channeled a small stream of chakra into the fourth hokage's seal, just enough to make it visible and waited while Jiraiya poked and prodded him with various sequence of chakra and one wodden stick. He also made a mental vow to break the sannin's stick before he left the room.

Jiraiya was finally satisfied that the two seals would not conflict after a full half hour of examination. And allowed Naruto to open the scroll detailing the new seal that the three of them hoped would solve his problems with the shadow clone technique. Naruto opened the scroll with a flourish and stared at the dense weave of kanji and geometric designs. As he studied the seal a small frown appeared on his forehead. The frown grew until he finally said, "This isn't what we discussed."

"What makes you think that brat? This is way beyond your ability no matter how much you have been studying since I embarrassed you last month."

Naruto didn't react to Jiraiya's barb and gestured to the seal, "I have no idea what this does, but I know what a time elapse trigger looks like, this seal doesn't have one. If you had done what we discussed then it would have something very similar right about here." Naruto thumped the scroll for emphasis before continuing, "And this part looks like -"

Jiraiya cut him off. "Enough, you're correct. This isn't what we discussed. I'm fairly sure what we discussed is impossible." Danzo gave Jiraiya an amused smirk and held out his hand. The sannin grumbled and pulled out a few ryo to pay the old man with. Then he turned back to Naruto and whined, "Why did you have to notice. If only you had stayed incompetent one more day..."

"So you think I'm competent now?"

"Hardly, you've just gone from incompetent to useless."

Naruto nodded as though Jiraiya had said something perfectly reasonable and asked, "So what does this actually do?"

"As far as I can tell spreading out the information return of shadow clones to minimize stress is impossible for a stand alone array." He poked the paper in Naruto's hand and continued, "This is the next best thing I could come up with." He paused a moment for dramatic effect before asking, "Have you heard of a technique support seal?"

Jiraiya spoke right over Naruto's halfhearted answer, "Support seals are used to help make certain techniques more cost efficient. In rare cases they can even enable those who can't perform a technique in the first place. But their most useful function is adding an additional attribute to a technique to create a composite skill."

He grabbed the scroll and waved it a bit, "Using my magnificent genius I've created a support seal for the shadow clone technique that should block any memories from clones created through it. And because I'm such a nice guy I even threw in a few more special features."

Naruto idly wondered if Jiraiya was having one over on him, but nodded like he would have been disappointed if the sannin hadn't gone to such an extent. "And the features are?"

Jiraiya smirked, "I'll get you a user manual." Before Naruto could react something impossible happened. The seal design on the scroll burned a bright blue and lifted off of the paper. It hovered a moment above Jiraiya's palm, then in a movement Naruto couldn't follow Jiraiya's palm was pressed against Naruto's shoulder. The seal branded itself into his skin in a flash of pain. Naruto didn't react.

When the light show finally died down and the seal faded to a much smaller circle of black kanji Naruto quirked an eyebrow at Jiraiya and admitted, "Cool trick."

Jiraiya frowned at the remark and protested, "Cool trick? I show you something only possible for those who stand at the absolute pinnacle of sealing techniques and its a 'cool trick.'"

Danzo smirked at Jiraiya and added, "For what its worth, I thought it was cool also." Jiraiya huffed and started poking around both the fourth's seal and the new shadow clone seal. He spent almost twice as long as he took the first time he inspected the seals to announce that the seals were free of conflicts and interference.

Jiraiya started to tease Naruto, who politely thanked him for checking the fourths seal and applying the new one before bidding the sannin a good day. Jiraiya broke the security seals around the room with a wave and stalked out muttering about no fun brats.

Danzo-sensei's smile told Naruto all he need to know about his teachers opinion on the meeting. Danzo wait to see if his student had any questions before asking one of his own, "So how far have you progressed in the ninjutsu scroll I loaned you, and do you have any questions?"

"I've gotten the reduced sign version of the wind bullet under control and can successfully use the single sign version of doldrums about half the time." Danzo nodded in satisfaction and allowed a bit of a genuine smile to creep onto his face. One of his students having a wind nature was an unexpected boon that had kept him smiling smugly for weeks. He had kept it up until a few anonymous members of Root convinced Torune to explain how terrifying the majority of the division found that smile.

The smile stayed even when Naruto admitted, "The vacuum spike palm on the other hand is a disaster."

"Its a complicated technique, I would have been astonished if you were able to master it without help." Danzo didn't bother to add that the one hand version of the signs he had provided his student with added another order of magnitude to the difficulty. Humility was important after all. Danzo gave his student a second to elaborate, and when Naruto didn't say anything more Danzo commanded, "Show me."

Naruto paused a second and took a quick glance around the room, but Danzo gestured impatiently before Naruto turned his concerns about their surroundings into an actual question. Naruto nodded in quiet acceptance before abruptly freezing. His face twisted into a smirk and he brushed a pair of fingers over his newest seal and sent a small surge of chakra into it.

A shadow clone abruptly appeared next to him. Naruto took a step back from the clone and snapped his left hand through seven hand seals before thrusting it into the clones chest.

For a brief moment the clone stood at the center of a small whirlwind of air. Dozens of random air currents surged through the air disturbing papers and supplies. It was a long way from the spike of negative pressure that would ignore any armor to destroy a target's internal organs. Danzo considered a moment then demanded, "Again."

Naruto's second performance didn't go better. Neither did the third. After Naruto's fourth vacuum spike palm, Danzo gestured for him to stop and then said, "Your allowing small amounts of your Yang chakra to contaminate the technique. I suggest you practice the Yin Yang separation exercise until you have sufficient control to hold it for at least ten minutes before you continue to practice the vacuum palm."

"Yes, Sir."

Danzo stood before the clone a second. Then he snapped out a single hand sign and struck before the clone could react. He gave the clone a nasty smile and commanded, **Wind Style: Vacuum Spike Palm**. The clone dispelled instantly and for a fraction of a second Naruto could see a dark distortion in the air in front of his teachers palm.

Naruto waited for the technique to fade entirely before he threw one of Danzo's own quotes back at him, "I thought that stating the name of a technique was 'useless waste of breath.'"

Danzo gave his student a smirk he knew the blonde would find annoying and said, "Oh that? I lied."

Naruto fixed a glare at his sensei, and the old man stared back with a smirk for several minutes. Eventually Danzo finally gave up the impromptu staring contest and explained, "When we state the name of a technique we perform a bit of self hypnotism. When we hear ourselves say the name of a technique it actually becomes a little easier to perform the technique." Danzo took a deep breath before he admitted, "I'm afraid I don't know the exact reason why this occurs. If you are really interested hokage-sama might know the answer."

Naruto nodded briefly before summoning another shadow clone and hitting it with a shout of **Wind Style: Vacuum Spike Palm**. The winds flickering around the shadow clone were a little less violent now, but it was still a long way from what it should be.

Danzo waited for Naruto to dispel the shadow clone before he added, "With sufficient practice stating the name of a technique becomes little more than a bad habit." Danzo waited for the lesson to sink in before he gave Naruto a conspirators smirk. "I was able to obtain the other thing we discussed."

Naruto smirked back when Danzo pulled a small book bound in dull red leather out of his coat. Naruto lifted the old book carefully out of his teachers hand and flipped the first page open. There handwritten in tiny flowing scrip was _Jinchuuriki_ by Mito Uzumaki Senju. A small frown flickered across Naruto's features at the word and Danzo explained, "Jinchuuriki, the power of human sacrifice, it is a term used to describe those who are sacrificed to contain demons."

Naruto stared at the word a long time before finally saying, "Today at lunch Sasuke asked me if I knew what the term Jinchuuriki meant. At the time I had no idea...So he's close to discovering the truth."

Danzo's smirk managed to become even more smug. "Oh, then he's progressing faster than I thought."

Naruto couldn't help but snap back, "Why don't we just tell them again?"

"Learning it through their own efforts will be good for them. Are you in such a hurry to announce what you are?"

Naruto's face hardened at Danzo's question, but he didn't reply. After a few minutes of silence Naruto slipped Mito's book into one of his uniforms pockets and was about to leave when Sasuke walked into the room. He spared a glance to Naruto before he turned to Danzo and asked, "Kakashi said you wanted to see me Danzo-sensei?"

Danzo's smirk was back in full force. "Yes, but I think we should wait on Sakura. I have a surprise for all three of you."

Naruto wasn't in the mood for his teacher's games. He shot Danzo an irritated look before calmly telling Sasuke, "He plans to nominate us for the chuunin exams."

Sasuke looked at his teacher in time to catch Danzo sending Naruto a dirty look. Then Danzo sighed theatrically and said, "I suppose Iruka was less than circumspect?"

Sakura walked in just in time to hear Naruto ask, "What are you talking about Danzo-sensei? I was just taking a shot in the dark." Naruto shook his head sadly, "You shouldn't give up information like that sensei, its a bad habit."

Somehow the reply brought a smug smirk back to Danzo's face. He waited for all three members of team seven to take a seat before he sat a large folder on the table. He flipped it open and started speaking in a voice that indicated he believed exactly none of Naruto's reply, "No matter how Naruto came by the information he is indeed correct. I have chosen to enter the three of you in the chuunin exams. It will begin in seven days."

He took three pages from the top of the folder and passed them around before continuing, "These are your entrance forms. All three of you must choose to compete for team seven to enter. I trust this will not be a problem." He turned a sharp look on all three of his students. The three predatory, almost arrogant grins, he received in return brought a smile to Danzo's face and caused a small surge of pride in his team to well up inside him.

He banished the smile after he was sure every member of his team had caught it and continued, "I also have a secondary missions for you to accomplish during the exams. You are to eliminate foreign teams and aid leaf ninja whenever the opportunity presents itself. Do not jeopardize your own chances of advancing, but I would like nothing more than an all leaf final."

A stray thought brought a frown to Danzo's face and he decided to modify his original instructions. "You are also to insure that Hyuga Hinata survives the exam through whatever means necessary."

His genin chorused in unison, "Yes, Sir."

Danzo tapped the folder on the table and finished, "This folder contains a break down of each task and suggested strategies for completing them. It also has our current intelligence reports on your competitors and suggested strategies for dealing with them."

Sakura considered a moment before asking, "Danzo-sensei isn't this cheating?"

Danzo smirked, "Yes."

Sakura managed to keep the blush off her cheeks and nodded, "Okay." Danzo gave his team a final look before walking out of the room without the folder. He almost froze in surprise when he felt the security seals on the room go up behind him, but then smiled and kept walking.

**A/N General:**

** Yes this was ridiculously late. To the point I'm sure more than one of you thought I had abandoned it. I haven't. The problem with doing your own repairs on a computer is its hard to use it at the same time. So my computer spent the better part of a month in pieces while I waited on a replacement dc adapter for my motherboard. Then it spent more time in pieces because I was busy. **

**Honorifics – I realized I don't really understand how honorifics work well enough to use them properly in this story so I have decided to drop most of them. The honorifics that remain are their because I felt it was important to keep those specific ones for some reason or another. In other words if an honorific is dropped in this story, it does not imply the same level of familiarity it would in Japanese.**

**Chuunin exams will be (finally) starting next chapter. Hopefully it will be a little less of a disaster. And now for ….**

**A/N Chapter:**

**Tried a bit of a different style this time. Mainly because I don't know how to write a timeskip well and I was very very tired of what I have dubbed the training arc from hell. Note that is the training arc from hell, not the training from hell arc.**

**The bit about Kurenai's team is pretty much an authors tract. Sorry about that, but I really don't think that team had any business in the chuunin exams. I'm pretty sure they would have died against any team we actually see fight. **

**Tried to use conversation and description to hint at the results of everyone's training without just infodumping it.**

**The seal is my current solution to the shadow clone problem. I'm really starting to hate that technique. Either he is an idiot for not abusing it or his a juggernaut because he does. Plan B is to just have someone (enemy) seal the technique outright, but I don't want to do that since shadow clone is pretty much Naruto's signature move. **

**The thing about hearing yourself speak affecting performance is actually from something I heard in a psychology course a couple years ago. I don't remember the study very well so it actually working might be wrong.**

**You didn't really expect Danzo to not cheat did you?**


	11. Chapter 10

Naruto waited hidden outside the exam building and watched the early risers enter. The kazekage's children were some the first; a team of hidden stone genin followed them closely in what they obviously thought was a circumspect manner.

One of the hidden stone ninja had their arm wrapped up in a splint an another was favoring one leg heavily. Naruto was fairly sure he knew exactly where the team had gained their wounds, and had a sneaking suspicion that they were about to try for a bit of revenge. Naruto mentally crossed the hidden stone genin off of the competitors list and wondered if he should inform one of the examiners. It would look bad for the leaf if they let a murder occur right under their noses.

Before he could leave his hiding spot he caught a chakra signal flare on the roof of the building. Naruto looked up in time to see a chuunin vanish with a body-flicker, and felt a bit foolish for thinking the other observers needed his help.

Naruto fiddled with one of his tanto for a few seconds before quickly sheathing it when a familiar chakra signature entered his range. Naruto jumped down from the tree he was sitting in and walked into the paved plaza in front of the exam building in time to catch Sasuke.

Sasuke gave Naruto a nod when he caught sight of the blonde, and the pair of them walked towards an out of the way bench. The bench wasn't exactly hidden, but it was far enough away to keep them out of most competitors view; more importantly the only place someone could listen in on their conversation was the single big shade tree hanging over it.

Naruto took the time to focus his chakra sense and carefully scan the tree before he gave Sasuke the all clear sign. Sasuke's eyed the tree a moment before asking, "Did you get them?"

In response Naruto pulled out a small packet of extremely complicated seals and handed them over to Sasuke. "Danzo-sensei was a bit doubtful, but even an idiot like me can copy something a master created." Naruto paused a moment before asking, "So since you asked about I assume Kakashi taught you the technique?"

Sasuke scrunched up his face in obvious annoyance. "You would not believe how much of a pain it was to get him to show me."

"Yeah he probably made you-" Naruto suddenly rolled his eyes, "Sakura's sneaking up on us again...Wanna screw with her?"

"Clones of Kakashi and Danzo?"

"Nah, we did that already."

"And she will never recover...how about we just pretend she doesn't exist?"

Naruto's rather evil smile told Sasuke that his proposal had been accepted. Sakura appeared on the branches above them before using her tree climbing skill to hand from it less than a few feet above them in what she obviously thought was a stealthy position. It might have even worked if both Naruto and Sasuke hadn't been tracking her with their peripheral vision the entire time.

Naruto fought to keep a smirk of his face when he asked, "So where's Sakura?"

Sasuke leaned back a bit to get a better view before replying with that obnoxious Uchiha grunt, "Hn. She's probably fixing her makeup or something."

Naruto saw a small frown form on her face before she shouted, "Hi guys! How are my youthful teammates this morning?"

It took everything Naruto had to not snicker at Sakura's over the top greeting. He kept his gaze focused on Sasuke and said, "No that Lee guy she keeps talking about finally asked her out on a date."

"They are probably buying each other flowers while only walking on their hands-"

"And if they can't do that then they will run five hundred laps around the village while kissing."

Sakura dropped from the tree and complained, "You guys suck." Then an evil little smile spread across her face, "Well if I'm getting ignored there is something I always wanted to do."

Sakura had her lips puckered and was leaning towards Sasuke, who started edging away. Naruto was laughing outright now and asked, "Sasuke why are you acting so strange..."

Sakura dove for Sasuke, who to Naruto's great amusement yelped and rolled off of the bench. Naruto suddenly sensed something behind him, and turned around only to stare into the eyes of another Sakura who was inches away from his face.

The both blushed a bit before Sakura awkwardly said, "Isn't the clone technique useful?"

Naruto followed her lead. "I see you finally figured out how to erase its signature entirely."

Sakura flipped over Naruto and grabbed the bench seat Sasuke had vacated before he could reclaim it. Once she was settled she asked, "Could you sense anything?"

Naruto frowned a moment before deciding to answer honestly, "I could sense you using the clone technique about three hundred yards back, after that nothing." Naruto smirked, "And because I'm amazing, you must be super amazing Sakura! Believe it!"

Sakura giggled at Naruto's sudden over the top antics.

Sasuke picked himself up off the ground and returned the conversation to serious ground. "Naruto got the seals and I learned the technique. I'm going to need your vial of blood Sakura. You too Naruto."

The each fished a few stoppered vials of blood out of their pouches and handed them over to Sasuke who carefully wrapped the vials in the sealing tags that Naruto had given him. After he was finished he handed each vial over to Naruto for a quick inspection. Naruto gave them back after making sure that the lines of the seal weren't crossed and Sasuke stowed them in one of his pockets.

The three of them were quiet a moment before Sakura finally asked, "So are we still going through with it?"

Sasuke mutely nodded and Naruto affirmed, "We've worked for weeks to come up with this plan. Now we just have to find the conviction to see it through. Plus I found the perfect scapegoats."

Sakura clapped her hands and said, "Alright lets go pick a fight then." The three of them walked together into the older office building which had been cleared out just for Ibiki's exam.

DTDTDTDTDT

Gaara waited quietly for Baki in the almost deserted hall outside of the waiting room and tried to ignore his Mother's frustrated shouting over not being able to feast on blood of the rock ninja who had been foolish enough to attack them. He knew Mother didn't really mean it when she said that if he let another prey get away she would leave him. Mother never left him and never could, because they loved each other.

Gaara's internal dialogue finally wound down when he agreed in a hushed whisper, "Yes Mother, next time we'll taste the blood of those idiots in masks too." Gaara ignored the twitch from his sister. If she tried to get in his way he'd feed her to his sand.

A movement across the hall drew Gaara's attention away from his sister to the very same set of rock ninja that the masked leaf ninja had saved from his sand. Gaara frowned at the sight. The rock ninja should have at least been bared from the exams after he had failed to kill them. He was about to comment when Mother made a wonderful suggestion that sent shivers running through the sand around him. Gaara smiled; Mother would get her blood after all.

The slight hiss of sand grinding against sand sent a shiver running down Temari's spine. Gaara felt a surge of contempt for his sister, but suppressed the urge to feed her to Mother as well. If he killed his siblings he wouldn't be able to compete and father had promised him so much blood if he played along with his designs just a little bit longer.

Gaara felt a small smile growing as the rock ninja squared off a few feet away from him. He turned to their apparent leader and asked, "Have you come to prove my existence?"

"Don't underestimate the hidden stone."

Gaara felt his irritation surge when Kankuro opened his mouth, "Ha! We crushed you weaklings before, why would it be any different now?"

Gaara didn't bother to correct his brother. The relaxed stances of the rock ninja, the way their previous wounds didn't seem to bother them, and the confidence each of them was radiating. Everything was different than their first encounter with the trio. In a manner of minutes they had become excellent prey. Gaara wondered if it was really the same group they had fought before, but Mother assured him it didn't matter.

The apparent leader of the stone ninja slid his arm out of its sling and laughed at Kankuro. "Crushed us? Like this arm?" The ninja's body language suddenly shifted into something altogether menacing, "It's time to die sand rats."

"Mother agrees. No more taunting, its time to die now."

Gaara spent a fraction of a second to insure that the masked ninjas from before wouldn't interfere again before he unleashed the powers Mother had given him. Sand rushed forward to capture and crush his prey.

The leader of the rock ninja jumped over the surge of sand and sent a spray of kunai down at Gaara's head. Gaara didn't bother to defend since such a weak attack could never pierce Mother's armor. He willed his sand into a small pool beneath where the rock ninja would land.

Gaara was already mouthing **desert coffin** when his prey realized the danger. The rock ninja's eyes went wide and he pulled himself to the ceiling just in time to dodge the coffin. Unfortunately for the ninja the ceiling of the exam room wasn't designed to support weight. The entire chunk that the stone ninja was clinging too came down with him right into Gaara's waiting sand.

Gaara spent a single second enjoying the desperate look on his prey's face before he whispered, "**Desert Funeral**." Instead of the normal rush of satisfaction Gaara felt from his enemy's blood drenching his sand Gaara felt nothing when he tore his enemy apart. At first he thought the enemy had just been too week to give him any meaningful satisfaction, but then Mother sent a surge of her power him shattering the genjutsu he was caught in with ease.

Gaara snarled in a rage that mirrored his Mother's as the blood leaking from his sand turned into bits of dirt and stone. He turned in time to see his sister's blood spray into the air. A hooded ninja in a hidden mist hunter ninja's mask had sliced a kunai across the back of her knees while she had focused on the earth clone in front of her.

For a heartbeat Gaara agreed with his Mother that Temari should just die for being so pathetic, then he remembered the genjutsu that his sister was probably still caught in. His sister had never even known that the hooded ninja was there.

The sand on the ground literally exploded towards the hooded ninja in a burst of unfocused wind. Temari and Kankuro went sprawling from the unexpected blow, but the hooded ninja jumped forward and over the spray of sand. Gaara smirked and called the sand in the air behind her back towards him.

The sand blasted together with a cry of **sand coffin** as soon as she touched the ground. But the coffin was empty. The hooded ninja had just vanished in a burst of speed he couldn't follow. Gaara lost track of the hooded ninja altogether until he heard the loud screech of the hooded ninja attempting to drive a kunai through the sand armor on the back of his neck.

The force of the blow actually drove Gaara forwards despite the sand armor, but he was far from out of control. As he fell Gaara called the last of the out of his gourd. The hooded ninja was fast, but the opening of the gourd was literally inches away from the hooded ninja's arms. Gaara's remaining sand got caught up in the ninja's arms just as he hit the ground.

Gaara's armor protected him from his trip to the floor and he didn't hesitate to command **Sand Coffin**. The masked ninja attempted to pull that vanishing trick again, but the sand already wrapped around the masked ninja's arms stopped the effort cold.

Gaara calmly pushed himself off of the hallway floor and smirked at his desperately struggling captive. Gaara smiled cruelly at the hooded ninja and raised his hands to finish it. Before he have the satisfaction of crushing his foe to death his brother interrupted the moment.

"Gaara Don't! We need to find out why we were attacked!"

Gaara stared at his brother a moment and wondered if he should kill the idiot for daring to command him. It only took a second for his brother to guess his chain of thoughts. The shiver of fear that ran down Kankuro's spine when he responded with a flat, "No." Without even turning around Gaara twisted his hand and commanded, "**Desert Funeral**."

His prey gave a shriek, then nothing. Their was no corpse, not even the bits of rock from the previous earth clones. Mother's power surged again breaking the second layer of the illusion an he turned just in time to see the hallway door swing closed.

Gaara ignored his Mother's shouting. He knew he was a terrible son for letting the prey escape, but a double layered illusion was a step up from the normal dredges his father sent after him. Or at least that's who he thought had sent the assassin. The disabling blows against his siblings compared to the obviously lethal attack on him certainly fit the form of previous assassination attempts. But why would father try to seriously kill him in leaf, so far away from his real base of power.

The arrival, and angry shouting of a pair of examiners interrupted Gaara's thoughts and the sand on the ground around him twitched. Before he could crush the idiots for further ruining his volatile mood, Kankuro started shouting back how about how they we're assaulted.

The interruption gave Gaara time to remember that they still had to take the stupid exam if he wanted the blood father had promised. He sent an irritated glance at his sister who was using some bandages from her kit to tie a wrapping around her knees. Gaara wondered if the enemy ninja had deliberately cut too shallow to hamstring his useless sibling or if the stupid girl had just gotten lucky.

His brother's frantic shouting and Baki's timely arrival was somehow enough to convince the examiner's from kicking them out of the exam for 'causing a disturbance' and they were released with a warning that any more 'disturbances' would result in an immediate disqualification and a swift boot from the hidden leaf village.

Gaara was thankful enough to Kankuro for keeping them in the exams that he decided not to break a few of his bones for his earlier attempt to command him not to kill the hooded ninja. Baki helped his sister then berated the three of them for taking unnecessary risks that might endanger the plan. Gaara laughed in the jounin's face at the little tirade, which brought Baki to an awkward and abrupt pause. He finished by weakly telling them that he couldn't lodge protests against the attack without disrupting the plan.

Gaara understood of course, the last thing they could afford was leaf shinobi snooping around. Not to mention that lodging a protest almost always resulted in the complaining team being dismissed from the exam no matter what the results of the 'investigation.' And that was assuming that the leaf themselves weren't behind the attack. But more important to Baki's continued well being, Gaara really didn't care. The look he sent Baki said as much if the speed with which the jounin vanished was any indication.

Gaara waited for his sister to stand on unsteady legs and smashed open the door to the exam hall with a burst of sand before stalking inside with his worthless siblings in tow. Every one of the early arrivals waiting inside stared at him. He gave them a bloodthirsty grin back and wondered which group he should feed to Mother next.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura sat on the windowsill a level down from where she had engaged Gaara and fixed Naruto with a hard look, "Your clone's substitution was slow."

Naruto wasn't sure how exactly to respond to that. Sakura's body language was radiating anger, frustration and more than a little fear and she was obviously just venting on him. And Sasuke smirking up from his seat on the floor wasn't helping at all. He finally settled on giving Sakura a simple, "Sorry."

"I could have-" Sakura caught herself and continued in a softer almost shaky voice, "I could have really died. I knew he could control sand, but seeing it-"

"Is something else entirely." Sasuke cut her off.

Naruto was fixing the Uchiha with an irritated look when Sakura finished in a half whisper, "And we're supposed to stop that monster?" Naruto whipped his head back around to Sakura so fast he almost got whiplash. Her eyes were more than a little dilated, and her breath had started coming in short gasps. But before he could say something she shook her head slightly. So he tried to his best to not draw attention to it and hoped for the best.

Sasuke pointedly ignored the byplay between his teammates and asked, "How did you convince those examiners to cover for us anyway?"

"Danzo-sensei got me a copy of the one in the bandanna's file. He's applied to ANBU twice and hasn't made the cut yet. I might have implied that this whole thing was part of some giant village plot and if he played along he'd get his promotion."

It was Sasuke's turn to fix his teammate with a non-expressive stare. A small and flat "What." slipped from his mouth unnoticed.

"I told you I would handle it."

Sakura giggled a bit and Sasuke just shook his head before steering the conversation back on track, "How long until the toxin starts to take effect do you think?"

Sakura frowned and answered, "Intelligence has her at around 45 kilograms and she got more than her brother so I would say about fifteen minutes for her and after an hour we should at least see some affect for the idiot in the hood."

Naruto couldn't help but ask. "You got Kankuro?"

Sasuke flashed his sharingan and confirmed, "Yeah, he swapped with his puppet at the start of the fight. That kunai that sliced along the side of the wrappings actually nicked his left arm."

"Hmm, I missed that."

"I still think we should have just tried to kill them."

Naruto shook his head at Sasuke, "I don't want to kill allies over a game."

Sakura couldn't help but quip, "Allies, do they know that?"

Naruto wanted to shoot a joke back, but couldn't afford to let the argument drop before he made his point. So he sighed and reaffirmed the obvious, "We've been over this. The political ramifications of assassinating the son of an allied kage would enormous. Jump starting the fourth ninja war isn't my idea of a good time."

Sasuke obviously missed Naruto's cue to drop the subject and continued the argument. "I still don't think it would lead to that. Hasn't the kazekage been trying to kill the brat off anyway?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at the reply, Sasuke was obviously just trying to rile Naruto up a bit or he would have gone for a less ridiculous argument. So she took the bait before Naruto could, "You can't be serious. No kage would fail to kill someone living in their own village if they really wanted that person dead. It's probably some twisted plan to toughen him up."

Sakura's reply gave Naruto enough time to figure out exactly what was going on. He closed his mouth without a word and shot Sasuke an irritated look. Sasuke sent Anko's 'I feed on your pain' smirk right back at the blonde while internally congratulating himself for using the sharingan to copy that smile.

Naruto ignored the smile as best he could and asked, "So do you want to go ahead and meet the competition?"

Sakura gave him a nod and Sasuke added, "No point in waiting," before he stood up. Sakura hopped down from the windowsill and immediately felt a flash of pain shoot through her ankles.

She swayed awkwardly a moment and then her teammates were besides her helping her keep her feet. She gave them a bit of silent thanks before waving them off with awkwardly, "Thanks, Utatane-sama wasn't kidding when she said using multiple foot techniques in quick succession would put more strain on my ankles than I could handle right now."

Sakura was simultaneously touched and put off by the concern Sasuke's voice when he asked, "Are you going to be able to proceed?"

She forced a small cocky smile on her face and said, "Yeah I'll be fine, worse case they will swell up a little tonight." Her little show didn't fool either of her teammates, but they either trusted her to take care of herself or were too eager about the competition to care. They nodded together and started off towards the stairs of the third floor.

The smile fell into a grimace as flooded her raw ankles with chakra to speed the healing a bit. It was a long way from a real medical technique and it felt about as pleasant as one of Gai's 'youth specials', but it was the best she could do. So she gingerly put one foot in front of the other and trudged forward to confront her new and greatest enemy, stairs.

The exam hall was a still a bit deserted when the three of them arrived, but that was fine with the trio. They didn't really want notice this early in the exam, and they especially wanted to avoid the notice of the redhead jinchuuriki who was subtly taunting a hidden rain team near him.

Sasuke subtly gestured towards an empty spot along the wall and his teammates subtlety signed that the spot was acceptable before all three of them walked over towards the gap and leaned up against the wall. Sasuke was deliberately given the middle spot so if they were attacked then Sakura and Naruto could screen him long enough to bring his ninjutsu into play. Naruto thought the setup was probably overkill bordering on paranoia, but there was never a bad time to get into a good habit.

The room was almost awkwardly quiet, with only a few broken whispers between the teams to keep the silence from becoming oppressive. Naruto hated the quiet. Not because he was intimidated or anything, but because it was boring. But he wasn't about to call attention to himself, that path only lead to lectures from Danzo-sensei or even worse Sakura.

So instead of doing something interesting Naruto occupied himself by discretely taking observing every team present to see if he could pick out anything to indicate the information Danzo-sensei had provided them with was outdated or plain wrong. Naruto half expected the latter being done deliberately to 'keep them on their toes'.

It wouldn't be the first time. After all Danzo-sensei was the one who once described training ground forty four as 'the genin obstacle course' in a mission briefing just to see what would happen. Sasuke still twitched when he saw one of those spiders.

The quiet lasted right up until the other members of their academy class arrived. Ino took one look around before cutting a direct path towards team seven. Naruto couldn't help but notice that she came within striking distance of four different teams on her merry little jog over. He glanced over at Sasuke and saw that the Uchiha had his sharingan active for some reason or another.

It wasn't until Ino leaped at them shouting "Sasuke-kun!" that he froze in horrified realization. The hesitation cost him dearly. Before he could really process that Sasuke had placed a genjutsu on Ino,

she already had her arms wrapped around him. Worse she was trying to rub her breasts up against him, that was creepy. Really really creepy.

Naruto had a brief moment to wonder if his current predicament was karma for thinking Sasuke was batting for the other team during their academy days. Then Sakura couldn't hold her laughter in anymore. She broke out in rich, hearty laughter that actually seemed happy. It was nothing at all like the catty mocking laughter she normally gave them.

It was so shocking that two things occurred. First Ino snapped her head around and snapped something mean about Sakura's forehead. Second Sasuke was so shocked that he outright dropped the genjutsu. So when Ino turned back around she got a face full of Naruto.

If her earlier antics hadn't drawn every eye in the room to them, then the shriek that followed certainly did. It was loud, like Sakura's mother on a bad day loud.

Ino followed up her screech with a shout of, "Naruto you idiot!" and took a swing at him. Despite the short range and near absolute impossibility of missing a hit when you were literally already on top of your target Ino's fist never got close. The pair of razor sharp kunai points drawling little dots of blood on her throat might have had something to do with that.

"Ino-pig- Only I get to hit stupid." Sakura's quiet calm threat carried throughout the room in the quiet left by Ino's little show. Naruto realized they absolutely could not allow the confrontation to escalate further, so he calmly looked past the suddenly wide eyed Ino and almost jovially said, "Shikamaru I've got something of yours."

The Nara obviously realized exactly what Naruto was doing. Which was probably the only reason he grabbed the back of her collar and yanked Ino out of her predicament. Because his face was all but shouting, 'You can keep her'.

When the still shocked Ino was lead docilely away Sakura dropped her kunai back into one of the hidden holsters on the back side of her hip pouch and quietly frowned. Naruto almost missed her whisper, "I didn't even hesitate."

Naruto was about to comment when he caught Sasuke making ANBU hand signs in the corner of his eye. Naruto gave him a small tilt of the head back and let him try his luck with a moody Sakura. He started off with a tone that was a lot more comforting that Naruto had believed him capable off, "Sakura you did the right thing. I know Ino's your friend, but at that moment she was a threat to your teammate so you just...reacted. We were trained to do things like this, don't be ashamed of what we are."

She looked like she wanted to give Sasuke a caustic reply, but she managed to bite it back. Instead she gave him a fake smile and said, "I know what your trying to do, thanks."

Naruto cut into the conversation at that point. "Hey that's Lee in the bowl cut right? What's with the giant eyebrows?" Naruto didn't have any trouble at all ignoring the irritated frown Sasuke was sending him, the Uchiha had blown his shot to comfort Sakura. And a distraction was better than a lecture rehashed from Danzo-sensei any day of the week.

Sakura paused a moment before answering. "Apparently having big eyebrows prevents things from coming out of your forehead."

That actually through Naruto in a loop for a bit. He stared at Sakura and couldn't decide if she was just pulling his chain or if she was serious. She obviously guessed what the flat stare meant and shrugged back, "All I know is it somehow is related to the tragic loss of Gai's guitar."

All of a sudden Naruto felt like he was the one that needed comforting. He actually felt less sane just by hearing the explanation, and a bit of it might have slipped into his voice when he quipped, "You know what, I'm just going to go back to thinking they are freaks of nature."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully and responded, "And that is probably the safe thing." When Naruto turned his full attention back to the crowd of chuunin hopefuls. Gaara was staring at the three of them. Naruto didn't quiet grown, the very last thing they wanted was the attention of one of the very few competitors they thought would kill them in an open fight.

Even worse a gray haired leaf genin, Kabuto Yakushi if their info was correct, was moving through the crowd to them. The information on the genin had been frustratingly vague. In fact instead of the skills description given to every single other competitor including the ichibi jinchuuriki, Kabuto had a single line: 'Not a genin. Do not engage.'

Which meant that the man was either a known spy left in place to discourage further attempts at penetrating leaf village security, better than an unknown threat after all, or he was a ringer the hokage had put in the exam for some purpose or another. Naruto thought he might be for security, after all they had a huge amount of high value targets competing including two Hyuga, the last Uchiha and one insanely and stupendously awesome future hokage.

Team seven was saved from whatever Kabuto wanted out of them by a sudden strangled gasp from Temari. It was a sound a human shouldn't make. Almost every head in the room jerked towards the girl who was swaying unsteadily on her feet while clutching the bandages around her knees almost desperately.

While the majority of the room was focused on the Suna kunoichi Naruto caught a glimpse of something a lot more interesting. For a second there was a look of genuine panic on Kabuto's face. It had only lasted a second before he had schooled it back into something more like the vague interest that rest of the room was wearing.

Temari's swaying didn't last long. Sakura had coated her kunai in a very special and powerful poison used to capture ninja for transport and interrogation, which the village had gotten it off of a traitor from hidden mist a few years ago. It was also something no genin should have access too. Of course rules like that only existed for honest people who weren't willing to violate village regulations and beg favors off of ANBU they happened to know.

The first part of the poison was a very powerful and somewhat painful muscle relaxant, which caused poor Temari to hit the floor with a weak yelp moments later when her knees gave out entirely. If the description Naruto had been given was correct then over the next few minutes the poison would spread up through the rest of her body, targeting very specific types of muscle tissue as it went. Temari would lose control of most of her voluntary muscle groups, but things like her heart muscles would be left almost entirely alone. The poison wouldn't kill her, but it would leave her utterly helpless for the better part of two to three hours.

Since the Suna trio didn't have a real medic and their closest thing to a poison expert was Kankuro they had hoped that the muscle relaxant in the poison would be more than enough to get the team kicked. And it would have been if the resident 'Not a genin' mystery hadn't made his way towards the two still standing members of the sand trio and offered his assistance.

Gaara responded with a sudden wave of sand. A wave which every member of team seven noticed he could have dodged but didn't. Naruto was so concerned with figuring out exactly what game the silver haired ninja was playing he actually missed whatever threat Gaara made. Kabuto shouted back, "If I help you here it's too my benefit. You're obviously one of the stronger teams here so allying with you will increase my margin of security in the exams."

Naruto thought it was good excuse, one in character with the genin Kabuto was playing at if not one particularly likely to convince Gaara to not kill him. Then Kankuro did something totally out of character, he deliberately got Gaara's attention with a shout of, "Gaara! Let him help, it will be just like that time at Trench Oasis."

Naruto didn't know or care what happened at Trench Oasis if it was actually an event instead of just some codeword. Kankuro had just risked his neck to save Kabuto, something that their intelligence indicated would absolutely not happen for a random leaf genin. Which meant that Kankuro knew Kabuto was more than a genin and even worse that they were probably allies. Naruto thought the whole thing could have been handled at lot better by Kankuro. If they really were allies, he had just shot a big hole in Kabuto's cover.

Gaara didn't look like he really cared and Naruto wondered if he was just that much better of an actor than his brother or if he just felt like taking his frustrations out on Kabuto. Naruto took it as confirmation that Kabuto really was a spy when instead of crushing the gray haired genin to death, Gaara snarled, "Get her able to compete or you both die," and recalled his sand.

If the death threat bothered Kabuto he was in too much of a hurry to show it. He dragged Temari out of the little ball she had fallen into and left her laying flat on the floor. After a few quick hand signs he pressed his hands flared with green chakra and he went to work. Sakura narrated in a mumble just loud enough for the rest of team seven to hear, "He's using the deadly poison extraction technique; he must have had at least a few years of training as a medic."

Sasuke mumbled back, "Good to know." and Naruto glanced over to see the Uchiha's fully matured sharingan taking careful note of everything that Kabuto did.

Naruto mumbled a quiet question to him, "Can you actually copy something like that."

"I can copy it sure. But I don't have nearly enough anatomy knowledge or medic training to actually risk using it on someone I like. Give me a few months to hit the books though..." He finished with a feral grin.

Naruto gave him a small nod back. It would be useful if Sasuke actually did pick up that knowledge. They had all passed Danzo-sensei's poison immunity course, but that really only covered the basics. The foe they had promised to help Sasuke kill was anything but basic.

That train of thought was derailed when Temari started thrashing and screaming. Kabuto had obviously succeeded in removing most of the muscle relaxant from Temari's system. It really was too bad that the muscle relaxant had been acting as a neutralizer for the second part of the poison. Right now every single one of her tenketsu probably felt like it was on fire.

The damage to her tenketsu would send her chakra system into shock. And medical techniques would just make it worse. After all it wouldn't do for a target to escape just because they knew a pesky medical technique or two. Kabuto obviously reached the same conclusions, which surprised Naruto more than a little. The spy shouldn't have had enough info to do that.

After two minutes Temari was still thrashing and Gaara looked more than a little pleased he would at least get to kill someone. Kabuto started digging desperately through his hip pouch and produced a syringe filled with something. He held it at eye level and squirted a little of whatever substance inside out of the syringe before promptly jabbing it right into the girl's abdomen.

Naruto hoped no one in the crowd noticed just how startled he looked when the girl's trashing started to slow. That poison didn't have an antidote. They had chosen it precisely because leaf's medical research division hadn't been able to come up with an antidote after two years of trying.

Naruto whispered in a voice that seemed abnormally steady to him, "Sakura can you go check with Hinata? We need to know what's happening right now."

Sakura nodded once and activated her concealment technique before quietly moving along the edges of the room to where the last team of their graduating class was sitting. Naruto turned his attention back to Kabuto and Temari in time to see the spy haul Temari to her feet. She looked really pale and was still more than a little unsteady, but Naruto thought she looked well enough to compete. After a moments pause Naruto rephrased that thought into 'looking well enough that she would compete when the other alternative was death by Gaara's sand.'

Naruto felt like breaking out into a stream of curses then and there. He resolved then and there to go out of his way to make Kabuto's life as miserable as possible once they finished the mission Danzo-sensei had given them. Naruto would make him rue the day when he annoyed Konoha's prankster god.

Of course Ibiki decided to make his grand entrance at that exact moment. He arrived in the center of the room in a little explosion of smoke and instantly saturated the room with killing intent. It was weak enough that Naruto was certain he was holding back. There was no way that the head of the hidden leafs torture and interrogation department had a killing intent inferior to Zabuza's.

Not that you would have guessed that from the state of some of the idiots around the room. Naruto supposed that team seven should have acted like they were overwhelmed to preserve their 'easy target' image, but he really couldn't be bothered. They had already ruined that image with how they handled Ino anyway. Ibiki stood silently radiating killing intent for another moment to see if anyone would drop from the pressure before he started screaming. "Alright Bugs! That's more than enough excitement. The next time one of you insects steps, looks or twitches in a way I don't like I will personally ruin you. I am the head of this chuunin selection exam's first test, but you don't need to know that. All you need to know from now on is that I am the man other gods call God. So when I say move you damn well should already be where I want you. Am I clear!"

Naruto was impressed. He had thought that Danzo-sensei was the king of drill instructor speeches, but this guy could give Danzo-sensei lessons. So when Ibiki barked out the last line of his little speech Naruto couldn't help but snap back. "Crystal clear, Sir!"

He almost wished he hadn't when Ibiki's eyes met his a fraction of a second later. Then Ibiki was abruptly in front of him, using every bit of his height advantage to tower over Naruto. Naruto kept his face clear of emotions and stared back up at the man. Naruto could literally feel the heat of Ibiki's breath when he shouted, "What did you say genin Uzumaki?"

Naruto knew he absolutely couldn't hesitate. So he shouted right back, "I said crystal clear, Sir!"

For a second Ibiki had an absolutely malevolent smirk on his face, then as fast as it formed it was gone and he was back to shouting, "That's right! You must be some kind of god damn genius! Genin Uzumaki! You are the only bug in the room that managed to get my question right."

He snapped around to the rest of the room and spoke slowly, forcing as much venom as possible into every little word, "Now lets try this again. Am! I! Clear!"

"Crystal clear, Sir!" The reply wasn't quite unanimous. A few were too out of it to reply, and Gaara just looked bored. But it was still more than enough to satisfy Ibiki.

"Good Buggies. Maybe you can learn." Naruto finally realized that while Ibiki had been occupying everyone's attention the other examiners had taken up positions around the edge of the room. He ruefully took note of the mistake he had made in focusing solely on Ibiki and committed the tactic to memory so he could abuse it in the future.

Ibiki vanished and reappeared behind the desk at the front of the room and paused to take a breath before continuing in a less hateful but equally loud turn. "Instead of your current seating arrangements you will take a chit from this bag and go to the seat indicated. After you are seated we will hand out the exams."

Naruto really really enjoyed Kiba's expression when he realized that the first test was a written exam. For a few seconds he honestly wished he had Sasuke's creepy eyes just so he could remember it forever and ever.

Sakura caught his gaze as they were taking their seats. She started to form a an ANBU handtalk sign, but before she could finish Naruto gave her a small shake of the head. Whatever Hinata had told Sakura would have to wait until after the first exam.

Ibiki waited until everyone had taken their assigned seats before he began again. "Listen up bugs. This exam has many rules and no questions will be allowed so I hope you are quick learners." Naruto listened carefully. He wanted to know if the rules had changed since Danzo-sensei had given them information on the test, and more importantly he didn't want to tip others off about team seven's insider information.

"Rule number one: You will all start out with ten points. This test uses a subtraction system, for every question you miss you will lose a point."

"Rule number two: This is a team test. Whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of you and your teammates."

Naruto couldn't help but whip his head around when some idiot in the back of the room shouted out some protest or another. Naruto wasn't actually sure what the protest was going to be, because before the idiot finished his first word a kunai slammed into his test, stunning him into silence. "Fail. How hard was it to remember 'no questions' for fifteen seconds." Ibiki didn't even bother to raise his voice when he dismissed the idiot and his team.

He waited for the three expelled candidates to leave before he finished, "Rule number three: Anyone caught cheating by the testing officers will lose two points." Ibiki paused a moment to see if he could kick anyone else out for protesting before he continued, "So there will be some who lose all of their points during the exam and be asked to leave."

Naruto had to hand it to Ibiki, the way he was slowly ratcheting up the pressure as he gave out instructions...It was excellent. Naruto honestly wasn't sure if he would have been able to see through Ibiki's mind games if he hadn't know ahead of time.

One of the chuunin examiners on the side of the room called something out to distract everyone long enough for Ibiki to launch into his next tirade. "Those bugs that are caught cheating will of course only have themselves to blame. If you are here to achieve the level of chuunin then be proud ninja." Naruto had to bite back a smirk at the double meaning of Ibiki's rhetoric. The he paused in sudden thought; had Ibiki just made the joke for himself...or did he actually expect a few people in the crowd to get it? Then he almost laughed in realization, Ibiki was actually placing hints for the crowd in his little intimidation speech.

Ibiki waited just long enough for hope to build back up before he continued, "And the final rule: if any of you bugs lose all of your points during the test or fail to answer on measly question correctly...will be failed along with their two teammates." That brought the panic back out in full force.

Ibiki gave them all an evil smile before he finished, "The exam will last one hour, you may begin."

As expected the exam was hard bordering on impossible, luckily it was also the same exact exam that Danzo-sensei had gotten them a copy of. Not that it mattered if Danzo-sensei was correct about how the first test would play out. Naruto briefly considered trying to actually cheat. He really did want to see if he could do it, but the risk was just too much. So he filled in the first answer box with a cypher of his own.

When the shadow clone with a binoculars on the roof next door decrypted the cypher would read, 'Going ahead with canned answers. Tell Danzo-sensei that Kabuto interfered with plan to eliminate sand team. Neutralized poison through unknown means."

Naruto waited a minute for his clone to copy down the cypher before he erased it from his paper and started filling the test in with the correct answers. He couldn't help but add at note at the bottom that read:

Ibiki-san your speech was great. By the way I cheated,

Love – That God damn Genius Genin Uzumaki.

Forty five minutes later Ibiki's puppy killer grin was out in full force. "It is now time for the tenth question."

"This question has special rules of desperation. First you must choose to take the question or not."

Naruto was actually surprised when someone shouted out, "What happens if we refuse to take the question?" He was even more surprised when Ibiki just didn't kick the genin who had spoken up out.

"If you refuse to take the tenth question...Your points will be reduce to zero and you will fail the exam." Ibiki paused the exact right amount of time before continuing, "And if you choose to take the tenth question...then the second desperation rule comes into play. Anyone who fails to answer this question correctly will be barred from not just this chuunin exam, but any future chuunin exam."

It was a bald face lie of course. Ibiki didn't have nearly that kind of authority. But somehow his little act throughout the exam made it really hard to remember that fact. Naruto estimated that Ibiki had just managed to fool ninety plus percent of the room that he really could ruin their lives over an exam. The way he crushed the guy who protested that he couldn't do that probably helped the image a bit.

People dropped like flies. Not just idiots who hadn't figured out they had to cheat to pass the exam either. More than a few smart ones judged the risks too great. Even more quit because they saw others quit. But Naruto wasn't interested in any of that; he was obliquely observing Hinata's reaction to the pressure.

Naruto suspected that either Danzo-sensei or old man hokage had arranged for Ibiki to proctor the first exam specifically to force Hinata out. That was the vibe he got from the hokage when he asked for the old man's opinion anyway. It would have been easy to sway the girl into giving up, which would have completed their mission to protect her during the exams admirably.

But it was just too cruel. Especially since when they had discussed doing exactly that Sakura had bluntly informed him that the shy Hyuga respected him for not giving up and also had a bit of a crush on him. He didn't know her all that well, but the list of people who respected him was small enough that he wasn't about to make it shorter over a game like the chuunin selection exams.

So he made sure that only thing that would affect whether Hinata stayed in or bowed out under Ibiki's intimidation was her own merits. Naruto honestly thought the girl was going to quit more than once, but every time her hand started to rise a bit of steel creeped into her eyes and she firmly sat it back on the desk.

He gave the girl a mental smile and wondered if Danzo-sensei had really underestimated Hinata Hyuga or if the flicker of steel in her eyes was all according to some plan to complex for him to grasp. Knowing Danzo-sensei it was probably both at once. The man was like a spider weaving webs in the dark.

When Ibiki finally announced that those who remained had passed the first exam, Naruto took advantage of the sudden outcry to give Hinata an earnest congratulations. He watched her blush cutely under his praise before Ibiki forced the room silent again.

Ibiki fixed the room with a hard look and proceed to explain the purpose of his exam. "One of the rules of this exam was to not cheat. After the way I introduced myself more than a few of you never questioned it. Then I gave you a test that was impossible for someone at the genin level."

Ibiki's evil smile was back for a moment and Naruto suspected that Ibiki had just barely held himself back from telling them all how fun it was to watch them squirm. Ibiki let the smile fall after a second and continued, "The purpose of course was to see who would work out that they needed to cheat and cheat well to pass the exam. Those that failed to cheat well were of course dismissed."

Naruto took careful note of the few that didn't flinch when Ibiki took off his bandanna and made it crystal clear to what extent chuunin were expected to protect the information they were entrusted with. Naruto was honestly glad that Ibiki had bothered to teach that little lesson to those present. Well maybe not the foreigners, but definitely his graduating class. To ninja information was literally a matter of life and death. It was a lesson that Danzo-sensei had pounded into team seven's head relentlessly.

In comparison to his staunch agreement with the lesson of the first nine questions, Naruto wasn't all that sure how he felt about Ibiki's tenth question. It was almost painfully similar to his own ninja way: Never give up; Never abandon a comrade; Never break a honest promise. That was his ideal, and he was bitter enough to recognize the faults of it.

Faults that had been pounded into him over long discussions with Danzo-sensei. To hear Ibiki so casually tell everyone that ninja should be willing to put their destiny on the line in a situation of uncertain stakes where they had no information...it seemed an almost insulting simplification of something very personal and complex.

Naruto banished his thoughts with a mental shake and looked around the room. He was genuinely happy to see that all of his graduating class had passed the first test despite the dangers they would now face. There was no way the real story of Ibiki's exam wouldn't leak out, and to those who chose to not face the tenth question would take a crushing blow to their confidence. He didn't want to see that happen to someone he knew.

When Ibiki finished up his speech Naruto felt someone's chakra flare on the roof of the building next door.

Naruto put a hand on one of his tanto and let the other slide into a one handed seal against the side of his pants, but forced himself to not react ahead of time. Naruto didn't so much as flinch until he heard the sound of breaking glass. A second later He let the hand sign subtly drift back to an open hand and let go of the tanto he was holding when he saw that their second examiner had arrived.

Anko had made what Naruto thought was a brilliant entrance. She even had a sign. He was totally going to steal her entrance the next time he felt like playing around with Konohamaru and his friends. Now if only he could decide if he should make the entrance as Naruto Uzumaki or as the legendary masked ninja-sama.

Naruto ignored the rest of Anko's introduction speech and rejoined his team as soon as possible. As soon as they could the three of them formed their own little group a a few yards behind the back of the group of chuunin hopefuls Anko was leading to the second exam. Before any of them spoke Sasuke threw up a terribly useful little ninjutsu that made it almost impossible to overhear them.

Naruto started, "So what did you learn about Kabuto's little miracle?"

"Hinata indicated that Temari's current chakra flow is abnormally low. As in barely above what is required to maintain consciousness. A civilian has several times the amount of chakra that she currently has access to."

Sasuke frowned and asked, "So what do you think happened then?"

"My guess would be that he injected her with a chakra suppressor to force her chakra flow so low that it wouldn't be able to damage her tenketsu." Sakura's voice was more than a little uncertain. It would require a huge amount of skill to instantly judge the precise amount of chakra suppressant needed to limit damage to the tenketsu while simultaneously allowing the subject to maintain consciousness.

"But that would mean-"

"Yeah Temari won't be able to jutsu or something like tree walking or even move faster than a slow jog for weeks. Right now she's more helpless than a civilian."

"Well that at least confirms that they knew Kabuto. Gaara would have definitely killed him for such a substandard job otherwise."

Sasuke noted Naruto's conclusion about Kabuto, but a more dangerous thought occurred to him. "Why exactly are they forcing her to compete like this?" Both of his teammates sent Sasuke a sharp look and he continued, "Sending someone who is currently below a civilian into the second exam. Its insane. Even with Gaara babysitting her the chance of her survival is incredibly low. Its not the sort of situation that a jounin who values his life would send the kazekage's daughter into without consulting his superior."

Sakura paused in obvious thought a moment before replying, "Well Suna is currently experiencing economic hard times right now. Now that you mention it that's probably why they broke one of the unspoken rules of these exams and sent a jinchuuriki to compete in the first place."

To her surprise Naruto shot down her logic before Sasuke could even open his mouth. "No Sasuke's right. The gain in revenue they can expect from preforming well in the chuunin exams doesn't begin justify the way that the Suna team is risking everything. There is definitely something else going on here."

They all knew the next logical course of action, but to Sakura and Naruto's surprise Sasuke was the one to say it, "This is above our pay grade. We need to pass all of this along with or conclusions to Danzo-sensei."

Naruto nodded in agreement before asking, "Sakura have your ankles recovered enough for you to use your high speed movement techniques?"

"No."

"Okay, then you're up Sasuke. Use the message drop we arranged on the roof of the bakery and meet us at the main entrance to the forest of death and try not to cause a disturbance." Sasuke nodded and vanished in a body-flicker just as Naruto pressed his hand against his shoulder and activated Jiraiya's seal with a burst of chakra. The shadow clone transformed into Sasuke instantly after its creation.

Naruto wasn't arrogant enough to think they had fooled Anko or the other four examiners he could feel shadowing the group, but he doubted that they would interfere. After all the chuunin exams were an 'as long as its not obvious' sort of test.

With the more importantly business completed Naruto decided to ask Sakura something that had been bothering him for almost the entire walk to the forest of death. "Why is Ino turning around and glaring at me every few seconds?"

Sakura chuckled to herself, "She should have thought it through before she invaded a genjutsu user's mind."

Naruto quirked and eyebrow and pressed the question, "Your humiliation technique?"

It was only when Sakura stumbled that Naruto realized he wasn't supposed to hear her response to his first question. Sakura answered awkwardly, "Ah...no."

Naruto frowned at his teammates antics and felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that the earlier incident with Ino was somehow involved. So he gave Sakura a very level look as asked, "Are you going to tell me?"

Sakura at least had the curtsey to blush when she answered, "I was thinking about earlier and I...um, I made her get married to you."

"Wait what? That's all kinds of creepy Sakura."

"Aww, you would be a cute couple."

**A/N General:**

**Yin-Yang manipulation – apparently this is a real thing in the Naruto manga. I didn't know that and don't have any real intention to use the manga version in this story. I'm just using this type of manipulation to explain why something like vacuum techniques are different than normal wind techniques. Don't expect yin-yang manipulation to have a major role in this story at all.**

**I found out that the 4th kazekage's special ability is manipulating gold dust. Isn't this the guy who is starting a war because his village is broke? Does anyone else see the inconsistency here?**

**In other news I heard tobi=obito. I so called this. And people said that similar names wasn't a good reason...**

**Seals – At least a few of you are giving Naruto way to much credit with seals. For this fiction think of a seal like a circuit board. Anyone with a schematic can make something like it, but that doesn't imply that they actually know how it works. Danzo gave Naruto and Sakura access to most of his non-forbidden seal notes, so they are using more than one thing that is way outside of their actual understanding.**

**Omake Contest: I will post a page full of omakes after the conclusion to part 1 of this story. If you want to submit an omake for the page then please pm it to me.**

**A/N Chapter:**

**If I was going to try and force the Suna kids out of the exam I would try to target the not Gaara parts of the team during the first part of the exam by framing them for something. But I really wanted to write at least one Gaara PoV scene so you got the fight instead.**

**I'm not sure if Kankuro would have actually known Kabuto's identity, but that's the only way I could think of to make the scene work out how I wanted it too. Plus it makes since for Baki to pass that information along to Kankuro.**

**I'm sure at least one of you is going to wonder why Naruto didn't pick up Orochimaru. I have two answers. One I'm not actually sure when he stole the grass genin's corpses. Two Orochimaru is really really good and Naruto has been an ninja for a little over six months.**

**Sorry this is a bit shorter than normal, but I didn't want to start the second exam arc with only a thousand words or so to do it with.**

**Next up the Forest of Death!**


	12. Chapter 11

Now that the second test had begun some jounin sensei were waiting in the room set aside for announcements while trying to appear calm and confidant. Others were already making the local bars a bit richer. Danzo refused to cast doubt on his team's preparations in such unseemly ways. He sat in one of the supremely comfortable chairs of the apartment he had chosen to live in for the week and sipped at his excellent cup of tea. While he sat he was occasionally writing on an oversized scroll detailing the wire techniques that had propelled him from a no name chuunin to one of the most powerful jounin in the village.

For awhile he had been confidant he would one day use those techniques to surpass Hiruzen. Of course those hopes had vanished with his arm and eye. The precise movements most of his techniques required were impossible with the replacement parts he had scavenged since. Though his new arm had a few tricks of its own that he couldn't really complain about.

Danzo wasn't sure what he would do with the scroll when he finished it, if he ever really did finish. None of his students were especially suited for his particular brand of techniques. Naruto had the overwhelming affinity to wind necessary but seemed to prefer using the massive power his heritage and tenant afforded him in place of the absolute precision wire techniques required.

Sasuke in many respects was a better choice than Naruto. If he continued to develop his lightning affinity it could be even more dangerous than Danzo's own wind based wire techniques. Though learning the pressure wave technique required for most of the more advanced wire manipulations would be an outright nightmare for Sasuke due to his natural affinities. Which in retrospect Danzo found a great reason to teach Sasuke the technique. The difficulty would be good for the boy; the sharingan made most ninjutsu far too easy.

But for some reason or another Danzo couldn't quite feel comfortable giving his life's work to an Uchiha. Probably because he spent so many years developing it specifically so he had something his old teammate Kagami would never be able to take.

Sakura on the other hand wasn't even a contender. She had the precision necessary for the techniques easily, but they were even more unsuited for her combat style than Naruto's. And despite recent gains in that direction Sakura hadn't even matured her chakra pool enough to develop an affinity.

The slight pressure that proceeded all but the most precise use of the body-flicker technique warned Danzo a half-second before his visitor arrived. Danzo palmed a hidden kunai, but was not overly concerned. The arrival was expected, though even if someone was trying to take advantage of his schedule to preform an assassination then he was in no true danger. If the arrival didn't have a very specific counter seal on them then the seal array around the apartment would tear them to pieces.

Torune appeared a second later and met Danzo's gaze calmly before speaking in his normal slightly detached tone. "Danzo-sama, we have a problem." He sat a scroll on the desk in front of Danzo. "Sasuke-san placed this at the arranged drop. It was flagged as critical using the standard ANBU codes sir."

Danzo didn't let the surprise he felt touch his face. There were very specific conditions for using the critical flag which he had spent a great deal of time impressing on his team. He snapped open the scroll Sasuke had written and quickly read through it while frowning. He froze when he reached the part about Kabuto helping the sand team. His method of beating the toxin he had allowed his team to 'acquire' was interesting but ultimately meaningless besides the fact Kabuto had done it. A dozen possible reasons for Kabuto's actions ran through Danzo's mind as he cursed the fact that the very nature of Kabuto's mission necessitated keeping such loose tabs on the double agent.

It was of course possible that Kabuto was still loyal to Root, but Danzo was long used to planning for the worst case so he disregarded such a happy contingency immediately. Two worse case scenario's occurred to him a heartbeat later. The first was that Kabuto had betrayed them entirely to Orochimaru and had somehow hidden a budding relationship between the snake and the sand. The second was that Orochimaru intended to use the chuunin exams to abduct the Ichibi container and probably Naruto as well for Akatsuki.

Danzo stood and gave orders as he collected the scroll. "Have the second division captain notified of the situation. And tell him I recommend a general alert." Danzo knew that suggestion would go ignored. He realized that issuing a general alert during the chuunin exams would be politically disastrous for the leaf and so did the second division captain. However the suggestion would allow Danzo to quickly impress the potential severity of the situation on the younger captain and even if he was wrong and nothing occurred then the suggestion would only cost Danzo a bit of political capital.

"After you alert the captain tell Fu that his leave is canceled and get our command staff assembled. Have Lain begin passively scanning the village for intruders with abnormal chakra levels, but don't have her scan actively yet. Also, I want the status of all operatives and supply cache's waiting in my office when I return." Danzo waited for Torune to nod before he vanished in a body flicker of his own towards the hokage tower.

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto sat on a branch half way up the length of one of the forest of death's massively oversized trees and leaned into a small indention in the trunk. Naruto found the spot comfortable enough and fell into a breathing routine before closing his eyes and reaching out with his charka sense. The first signatures to appear were of course his teammates. Sakura's chakra was a small but tightly focused ball of pink tinted light about six feet above him on another branch. Sasuke's chakra didn't have the focus Sakura's did but it made up for it in shear size. An absolutely massive ball of red light sat a few feet from him where the branch forked; Sasuke's chakra was far from subtle.

Much further out, just inside the wall was team eight, right where they were supposed to be. Acquiescing to Anko's demand of twelve whole plates of dango had been worth it to get the entrance point right next to team eight.

They were outside the expected range of Hinata's byakugan, but Naruto doubted they would be able to remain undetected for long. Team eight had far too many methods of surveillance for any other outcome. Which Naruto suspected the team trying to lay an ambush a few hundred yards from team eight was about to learn the hard way.

Naruto signed Sasuke without ever opening his eyes. "Three combatants. Chakra genin level. Engaging team eight now." The unknowns moved through trees in an obvious ambush pattern until they were within a kunai throw of team eight. A few heartbeats later a sudden spike in chakra signatures was any indication team eight had finally detected their ambushers.

Which really was inexcusably late when one considered the massive advantages that team eight had over most ninja when it came to surveillance in general. Then something funny happened to the ambushers chakra signatures. They started spiking erratically like they were trying to defend themselves. Naruto frowned and wondered if their intelligence on Shino's effective engagement range had been wrong.

The ambushers pressed forward, jumping down from what Naruto assumed was tree level to the ground near team eight before promptly returning to just below their starting position. It took Naruto a moment to realize that the ambushers had walked right into a trap. The ambushers chakra signatures started falling sharply right past the point of normal exhaustion to something that was outright dangerous.

Naruto suspected that Shino was using his insects to drain their chakra ruthlessly. He signed, "Team Eight – Victor" and idly wondered if team eight had somehow kept their chakra signatures stable while observing so as to not tip off their ambushers. It made as much sense as a team with three surveillance specialists failing to pick up on ambushers until they were dangerously close, but Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that he was giving them too much credit. Or maybe he just didn't want to believe that Kiba had the chakra control to pull something like that off.

Team eight hovered around the ambush sight for a moment more before setting off straight for the tower. Naruto opened his eyes and announced as much to his team. Both of his teammates stared at him a moment before Sakura finally asked aloud, "Did they just clear the second exam in the better part of a half hour?" Naruto nodded, it was likely. Without the correct scroll team eight was unlikely to venture towards the tower so early in the exam. "Why are we guarding these people again?"

Sasuke smirked, "Think of it like ANBU on Hokage duty," before he switched back to hand signs to signal for them to move out in pursuit of team eight. They went right over the ambush sight were three unconscious genin were laying in a pile of dead leeches. Naruto wondered if team eight had thought they were being merciful by leaving their competitors alive; even this close to the edge it was unlikely that in their current condition the three would be able to escape the forest before something much worse than leeches found them. Team seven didn't pause in their pursuit of team eight.

Naruto was not concentrating terribly hard on his chakra sense, it wasn't really necessary to get more than a general direction at this point, and Sauske was excellent at tracking in his own right. But even if he tried Naruto couldn't ignore the absurdly large signature that suddenly appeared well outside of his normal range. Worse still Naruto recognized the signature; it was Gaara. He came to stop suddenly. Leaving Sakura to scramble wildly since he was in her intended landing place, something she hurried to inform Naruto was unacceptable with an absolutely startling vocabulary.

Naruto ignored the small tirade and rapidly calculated the approximate position and velocity of each group. By the time Sasuke had turned around and jumped back to the branch that was serving as their impromptu meeting place Naruto was finished. "On their current course team eight is going to rendezvous with Gaara's team in less than ten minutes."

Sasuke didn't react to the news at all. For a few moments he just stood still on the branch. Then he slowly blinked and shook his head. "No they are not. Because before that we are going to engage team eight."

The way Sasuke said engage Naruto knew that he intended to fight them. Naruto managed to not frown outright. Sakura was a little less restrained, "Are you sure that is wise?"

"I agree with Naruto." Sasuke paused in shock when he realized what he had just said before continuing, "Team eight does deserve a fair shot at these exams. But fighting Gaara is way beyond anything that can be expected from a chuunin candidate. We try talking first; but we will remove team eight from the exam before we let Gaara anywhere near them."

Naruto didn't particularly like it, but Sasuke was the assigned leader for the second exam, and Danzo-sensei had long since impressed the importance of following orders on him. The three members of team seven set off again at a much faster pace.

The first indication that team eight knew it was being followed was Kiba hurtling a kunai towards Sakura. It didn't come close, but the members of team seven found it more than a little upsetting. Kiba was about to throw another one when Naruto shouted, "What the hell mutt!" Through the trees.

Kiba faltered for a second before plastering on an almost insultingly confidant look as team seven came to a stop on the branches above team eight. "Well if it isn't stupid, loud and cocky."

The members of team seven glared at Kiba a bit before Sasuke finally asked in an even voice, "What sort of idiot throws a kunai without confirming his target. That's something only Naruto would do." Naruto was about ready to throw a few kunai of his own at their team leader when Kiba blustered back, "Don't pretend, this is an everyone for themselves sort of event!"

That remark caught Naruto blindsided. His world reeled a bit and he actually gaped at Kiba. He couldn't believe a leaf ninja, much less one from a clan famed for their loyalty was ready to fight another leaf ninja over a political stunt. Sakura summed up his thoughts nicely, "What an idiot."

It was really too bad she underestimated the sensitivity of Kiba's hearing. Kiba went through the roof and shouted, "Don't you dare look down on me!" He took a deep breath before continuing in a darker and more angry voice, "And don't you dare pretend. Mom told me all about that sensei of yours. How he will stab his allies in the back the moment he thinks it will benefit him. He is just a traitor that the hokage is too caught up in the past to bring to justice."

Naruto had a half second to wonder exactly what Danzo-sensei had done to the Inuzuka to prompt that sort of reaction before Hinata quietly said, "I'm sorry," and Kiba charged them.

Naruto couldn't really read Shino's face with the sunglasses and high collar, but to his credit his first action was to cover his idiot teammate's charge with a small swarm of insects. Tactically it was a poor move. The cloud might reduce accuracy from a kunai or shuraiken attack, but against a team with two ninjutsu users it was meaningless.

Politically on the other hand it was genius. In a signal move Shino had expressed that he didn't really want to fight team seven but he would try to protect his team first and foremost. And people say that the Abrume have trouble with communicating.

It was a lot harder to determine Hinata's reasons for hanging back and covering Shino. It could have been a carefully considered action in the same vein as Shino's. It could have also been a lack of confidence. But Naruto personally suspected that Hinata was just unwilling to fight against people she had been classmates with.

In the time it had taken Naruto to make that deduction Kiba had closed the remaining distance. His opening move was what appeared to be an over committed hay maker, the sort that would leave you off balance after you took a swing. But it was actually a feint for his other hand which was going to execute some sort of wide area claw attack if the way he was holding his hand was any indication. It might have even worked if he wasn't up against someone with a sharingan, someone who could literally sense the chakra flow of the attack and someone who spars every other day with Rock Lee and Maito Gai.

As it was Sasuke interrupted the attack before it ever got started by ignoring the fake haymaker in favor of grabbing Kiba's other wrist before the claw attack could gain any momentum. Kiba snarled and was about to snap off a low kick only to freeze at the feeling of Naruto's razor sharp tanto pressed against the back of his neck. It was a terrible position to make an actual strike from since the vertebrae would protect most of the neck, but Kiba didn't know that.

A few feet away Sakura stood holding a very confused looking Akamaru. Sasuke calmly looked at the cloud of insects hovering a few feet away from them and calmly said, "Call off the insects please."

Kiba ignored the blade against the back of his neck and shouted, "Don't do it. They are going to demand our scrolls next!" Kiba giving away that team eight did in fact have a complete set of scrolls caused Shino to make a face that almost made Sakura giggle.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed for a moment before he said, "Naruto, Sakura let them go. We're not here to fight ninja of the leaf." Sasuke paused, obviously waiting for Naruto to intervene if they hadn't bought enough time to prevent team eight from running into Gaara. When Naruto sheathed his tanto and took a step to the right, Sasuke hit Kiba, hard, in the face.

The insects got a lot louder all of a sudden, but Sasuke ignored them to look coldly at Kiba. "We didn't come here to take your scrolls. From the moment we arrived you have tried to pick a fight with us. Going as far to make wild accusations about our sensei. I don't know or care why you want to fight us, but we aren't going to let personal grudges take precedence when all of us leaf ninja should be presenting a unified front to the outsiders." Sasuke caught Naruto make the emergency sign subtly out of the corner of his eye and finished, "If you can't do that then reconsider your reasons for taking this exam," before vanishing in a body-flicker.

Sakura and Naruto vanished in body-flickers of their own a half second later, leaving Kiba alone with two unamused teammates. The three of them rendezvoused in a tree just outside of the suspected range of Hinata's byakugan. Naruto didn't wait for a prompt to explain the nature of his emergency. "Two inbound chakra signs moving rapidly towards us. One is jounin class and the other is really funny, I can't get a solid read on it. They are moving along our old path...Sasuke neither of these signatures were in the first part of the exams." Naruto didn't need to explain further, an unknown, dangerous, and potentially hostile pair chakra signals were tracking either them or team eight.

"And Gaara?"

Naruto shook his head. "He's to the north, they paused for awhile then started moving again towards the tower. They are moving slowly, presumably because of his sister and brother."

Sasuke looked about ready to curse, but didn't let any of it color his voice. "Alright, first we need to determine if we are the target or not and if the target is hostile or not. If its hostile I'll lead with a genjutsu and we go straight to lethal techniques. Someone else can deal with the politics of this one. If we can't instantly down the target we burn the special clones and make straight for the edge of the forest to alert the ANBU."

The plan was solid if a bit risky depending on just how far above their level that jounin class chakra signature was, so Sakura nodded and asked, "And if the target is team eight?"

"Then we do the same thing and hope that they run when we tell them to." The three crossed their own trail towards where the confronted team eight a few seconds later, before falling into impromptu ambush positions. Their general strategy for an ambush in team exercises had been to have Sasuke lead with a ninjutsu or genjustu while Sakura and Naruto engaged from the sides.

It was a strategy that worked better when the opposition didn't start the fight with a large scale wide area wind attack that forced them to give away their positions in order to not be simply blown away. It also worked better when the opposition didn't arrive on a giant snake which Naruto realized far to late was the jounin class chakra signature.

The members of team seven were not naive or ill informed. They knew instantly that the snake summon meant they were either facing the infamous Orochimaru or a recruit of his important enough to entrust a snake summon to. Either way each and every member of team seven instantly knew they were totally outclassed, but they continued with their strategy. To do otherwise was to invite miss-coordination and an even quicker death.

Sasuke's eyes flashed sharingan red and met his opponent's slitted eyes with a whisper of **Black Coffin**. The genjutsu consumed a monstrous amount of chakra, over half of Sasuke's total reserves and was as far from subtle as possible. Nothing quiet screamed genjutsu like having a black box come up around you for a second before every part of your body was perforated with shadowy swords. However it had a single, outstanding virtue that made it worthwhile. It was fast. The technique required no hand signs or careful setup. The only requirement was to make eye contact.

Sakura quashed the tiny bit of frustration she felt at Sasuke dumping more chakra than she had into a genjutsu and used her** accel** to vanish towards her target before his eyes were even finished widening. She caught him across the back of the head with nasty kick combination that did no favors for her already burning ankles just as the snake underneath them had a nine inch hole ripped straight through its throat and spinal column. Sakura snapped off a final blow, sending the summoner towards Naruto just as the snake summon disappeared in a cloud of dust.

The real Naruto stood there, surrounded by eight of his clones. He quickly pulled a tanto free from its sheath with a badly burned hand to complement the kunai he already had clutched in the other. He wasn't fast enough. The summoner had already recovered enough from the illusion and beating to twist his hand underneath the first strike of the tanto and sweep it wide. In the barely perceptible delay between the defeated tanto strike and the follow up thrust with the kunai the momentum momentum of the battle shifted. Three clones died to save Naruto from being gutted instantly by the kunai the summoner had produced from somewhere.

The snake eyed summoner slipped his foot inside of Naruto's stance and in a move Naruto couldn't quite follow forced both his tanto and kunai high with just the hand holding the kunai. Naruto had just enough time to see the summoner's hand form into a strange flat thrust before it dug a hole right through his flack jacket and shattered two of his ribs. The next attack was strong enough to send him skidding along the ground while gasping for breath. The next blow would have probably killed him if Sasuke hadn't sent a hail of shuriken and wires through the clouds of smoke the remaining shadow clones left behind as they dismissed themselves.

Angry white fire rushed down the wires a moment later, turning the wire to faint white ash and burning green afterimages across Naruto's vision as it passed. The summoner jumped a split second before the fire would have eaten him alive. He never saw through Sakura's concealment technique until she buried her kunai up to its hilt in his neck. Sakura rode the body down into the still burning pile of magnesium wire with a bit of relief showing on her face just as an impossibly large chakra source right underneath them gave Naruto a blinding headache to complement the sharp pains through his chest with every breath.

Naruto moved. He hit Sakura hard with his shoulder, sending her tumbling across the ground just as a sword pierced the earth clone they had been fighting. Just as Naruto cleared the clone the sword twisted as the clone fell apart into rubble and in a hot flash sliced open the back of Naruto's leg. It burned a moment, then suddenly went numb. Naruto immediately noted that he was poisoned, but doubted he would live long enough for it to matter.

Orochimaru – and there was no longer any point in pretending that was not who they faced – rose from his hiding spot in the ground without any apparent effort and leaned his freshly blooded sword on the ground in front of him before clapping. "Splendid. Immediately analyzing the situation then using a high level genjustu to disable your target before moving in for the kill; you are very like Itachi in that regard."

Sasuke was already making handsigns when the snake sannin began to talk, and showed no signs of stopping because of the barb about Itachi. If that bothered Orochimaru, he didn't show it. "And not just you either." He turned to Sakura as she pushed herself off the ground and continued, "Little girl, I'm quite interested in how you did that to my clone. Even jounin level genjutsu users would have trouble pulling something like that off well enough to create such an opening, much less capitalize on it."

Sakura paused and then nodded in acceptance at the complement before proceeding to try and keep attention from her teammate's preparations. "So why are you here Orochimaru? I know Anko is your old student, but isn't crashing her exam a bit petty?"

"My, my… witty under pressure. I'm not sure if that's praiseworthy or annoying. As for why I'm here..." He looked over to where Sasuke was still rapidly signing, totally unconcerned. "I'm here for Sasuke-kun of course." He sighed dramatically, "Sasuke and I, we share a vested interest in Itachi. We both want him very very dead. I came here to evaluate whether or not Sasuke was capable enough to be an asset in my little ambition."

Sasuke paused for a half-second before continuing to make hand signs. Orochimaru looked a little miffed for a second before shrugging, "Well then I'll just leave you with a token of my regards." Orochimaru lunged forward almost invisibly fast towards Sasuke as his neck stretched out to an abnormal length. He only got half way there when Sasuke slapped his hands against the ground and shouted **Earth Style**: **Dust Crater**. There was a dull thud and then the ground suddenly fell apart underneath them. Cracks in the rock spewed poisonous dust everywhere forcing Naruto to close his eyes or go blind.

Luckily Naruto didn't need his eyes to execute his own addendum to their escape plan. He flooded the shadow clone seal Jiraiya had placed on him with as much chakra as he could force through it. Enough to make the seal glow an angry red and hiss as it branded its way deeper into his skin. Less than a hundred clones appeared and launched themselves at Orochimaru.

The real Naruto started moving the same instant Sasuke completed last sign of the six hundred in the combo he had copied precisely from Kakashi. He smashed the three vials of blood he had been palming the entire time with a whisper of **Secret Medical Technique: False Life Creation Art** and got clear as the seal arrays on them flared a sudden blinding shade of orange that Naruto would have loved.

Orochimaru had been cocky enough to give him time to calm down and plan. He would make the snake regret that. The sannin had been using the snake to track them based on scent, which meant that backtracking their own trail while the special clones fled deeper into the forest should give them enough of a head start on Orochimaru to make it to the edge of the forest and the ANBU.

Naruto caught his whole and not bleeding clone just as it was about to exit the cloud with the two others. In the span of a heartbeat they had a conversation with just small pulses of chakra. The real Naruto had sustained distinctive injuries during the fight that the clone couldn't replicate. Orochimaru would immediately notice a henge and wonder why it was necessary, and anything more would take too long.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sakura's ankles burned, it was well past the point where Gai would have forced her to stop in training and beginning to enter the point where every step was doing real damage that would take weeks of rehab to recover from. She still ran as fast as she could towards the wall anyway, and chanted to herself as a ward against the pain. Sasuke and Naruto were lagging behind, but not by very much.

Finally after what seemed an enternity alone with nothing but the sounds of her and her teammates bouncing across through the trees and the constant pain in her ankles the forest came to an abrupt end. Sakura cleared the wall and what to Sakura looked like a living shadow. A moment later the shadow resolved into a chunnin examiner as she appeared besides team seven and dully asked, "Team Registration."

Sakura could barely breathe but she managed to gasp out, "General Forces Genin Team xa-7, Team Danzo."

"Right then, Team Danzo is disqualified for violating the conditions of the exam, your sensei won't be informed until the end of the shift so if you want to think up an excuse you have some time to collaborate it with the rest of your team." The chuunin examiner marked something on a form while Sakura just stared at her like an idiot for a few seconds.

It took the sound of Sasuke and Naruto clearing the forest wall to snap her back to her senses. "We ran into Orochimaru! I have a case rhino!"

The chuunin examiner gave her a flat look back then spoke as if talking to a very small child, "Am I supposed to be impressed that your sensei taught you ANBU code words? Illegally I might add. Running into a big snake doesn't mean you get to call in the ANBU. Orochimaru indeed!"

Killing intent is a very strange thing ill understood by even experts. In its most basic form it is considered to be a clash of wills, the aggressor's desire and belief that they can kill the target is forced against the target's will to live and their confidence in their own abilities.

At that moment if the six paths sage himself had stood between Sakura and the little shit who had just dismissed what had happened over the past hour as a story then he wouldn't have even lasted a second. Sakura's killing intent hit the chuunin examiner with all the subtlety and power of the Kyubi on a bad day.

The chuunin's back instantly went ramrod straight and her pupils contracted into pinpricks. For all of her anger Sakura's voice was super naturally calm, "I have a case rhino, Orochimaru is in the forest of death. Go get the ANBU." The 'or die' part of the message was left unsaid but understood. Sakura waited a heartbeat for the examiner to move; when she did not Sakura met her eyes and shouted, "Move Shinobi!" The chuunin squeaked then vanished in one of the fastest body-flickers that Sakura had ever seen.

Sakura turned around and walked over Naruto and gave him a single, unamused, look over before driving a kunai into his chest. As the clone started dissolving into a black ichor Sakura half shouted half sobbed, "Naruto you idiot – You had better live...you promised."

Sasuke had a more than a little panic in his eyes when she turned around and looked at him. He half said half barked, "I'm not a clone."

Sakura blinked heavily to clear her vision, then pretended she didn't hear the remark. "I'll wait on the ANBU, go find Danzo-sensei and tell him everything."

DTDTDTDTDT

The plan had been for Naruto to follow the other two clones for a little while before breaking off and going on his own towards the edge of the forest. The plan was not going well. He had not planned for exactly how painful running with a pair of broken ribs was. He had not planned for his increasingly numb poisoned leg to make even simple steps treacherous. And he had certainly not planned for the sannin to be less than a kunai throw behind them riding on top of a newly summoned giant snake by the time Naruto and his fake teammates had cleared the first tree.

Orochimaru sent a volley of blisteringly fast kunai after them. Which neither Naruto nor the clones could quite dodge. In the first few minutes Naruto had a half dozen superficial cuts trailing fresh blood. The clones weren't doing much better. It took another painful slice across the side of his arm for Naruto to realize that Orochimaru was somehow judging their agility and reaction speed and sending kunai just a bit to fast for them to dodge.

The snake sannin was playing with them. Naruto didn't know or care why, but he took his chance and split off from the fake clones before the sannin got bored. Orochimaru's voice cut through the woods behind him, "You naughty boy! Showing everyone the true character of a leaf shinobi like that!" The shout broke down into weird keening laughter that sent a shiver down his spine. The shiver got progressively worse when Orochimaru continued, "Naughty boys should be punished – bring him back so he can watch everything."

Naruto couldn't help but look back to see that Orochimaru had leaped from his snake to close the range against the clones of Sakura and Sasuke. Which Naruto didn't find nearly as alarming as the giant snake which was now bearing down on him. A half dozen plans flirted through his head in an instant. If he could get a clean hit off on the snake he could probably kill it; snake summons were not known for their fortitude after all. But that would probably just draw Orochimaru's attention to him and away from the clones.

So he tried to pour on the speed and get as much distance between him and the snapping maw of the snake summon as possible. It proved a bad decision a second later when he landed on the next branch and his poisoned leg abruptly decided to fold underneath him. Naruto desperately channeled chakra and managed to stop from falling outright. Naruto dimly noticed that the world around him had begun to spin a little bit. He couldn't tell if it was from his injuries or the poison.

Then the crack of timber torn apart by overwhelming force reminded him that he was supposed to be running from the giant snake. He half leaped half fell just barely in time to avoid being eaten along with the branch he was standing on. Naruto landed roughly on the forest floor as his poisoned leg bent weirdly underneath him. The snake loomed over him for a minute, staring down with obvious and malicious intelligence as the forest twisted into a nauseating swirl of colors behind it. It was disconcerting, an animal's eyes had no business looking like that.

Then its head came crashing down, with its maw spread wide ready to swallow him. Naruto didn't react at all. He had one chance if he wanted to avoid being swallowed and presumably carried back to Orochimaru inside of the snake. He wouldn't waste it on a long range jutsu too weak to do the job. As time seemed to slow he held a chipped tanto in front of him and focused.

The distorted world his eyes showed him fell away as he desperately tried to force his battered body to do something that he could barely perform after hours of careful preparation. The only thing in the world was his tanto. The gouges that crossing blades with Orochimaru had cut in the once finely honed blade we're suddenly visible in absolute clarity. Sudden violent overpowering hatred totally out of character with the minor annoyance of a chipped blade flowed through him but couldn't touch him. He poured everything into the sword until it was wrapped in a misshapen bundle of seething power.

Naruto looked at it with only the faintest feeling of disdain, it was a long way from the precision and sharp edges of a true chakra flow technique, but it would work. The world suddenly crashed back to full speed and the tip of Naruto's tanto touched the roof of the summon's mouth.

The snake wasn't cut apart and it wasn't burned. The energy transfer was too sudden and too massive for anything like that to occur. The snake's head and a goodly portion of the body behind it simply disappeared. The rest of the snake hit the ground with a dull thump behind Naruto before vanishing back to the summon realm in a stream of smoke. Naruto held the hilt of the tanto tightly and stared blankly at where there had once been a blade attached to it before blinking once and falling unconscious.

DTDTDTDTDT

Orochimaru felt his summon's violent dismissal and frowned. He spent a second idly wondering if he should track the brat down himself to insure he didn't die from the sword of Kusanagi's poison before dismissing the thought. If the brat died it was no big loss, he could just force Sarutobi to pass the team with only two members. His thoughts were cut off as Sasuke executed another taijutsu combo as his pink haired teammate tried to snare him an yet another genjutsu.

It was a nice combo, the genjustu was extremly low power, little more than a distraction really. But when combined with pink haired girl's precise timing it was extremely effective at disrupting Orochimaru's ability to defend against taijutsu. Against a chuunin it would have lead the pink haired girl and Sasuke to victory. Against one of the weaker jounin it would have been a very close loss. But against Orochimaru it was useless.

He feinted just long enough to draw Sasuke in before pinning him. Orochimaru was happy with the additional abilities that Sasuke and his team had shown off, and did wonder what else they might have up their sleeve, but he also knew he was running short on time. So he stretched his neck and bit down on the shoulder of the boy struggling underneath him. He pumped the boy full of chakra and precisely calibrated venom before standing to admire the new mark on Sasuke's now shivering body.

Then to Orochimaru's horror the body he intended to make his began to dissolve. It started at the seal, which abruptly burned away, along with most of the nearby skin to reveal what Orochimaru could only describe as black rot. Other similar sores began to open all over Sasukes body as it destroyed itself. Orochimaru snapped a kunai into the pink one's chest and saw the same black ooze start to poor out of the wound a second later.

His analytical mind told it was some sort of clone technique, but Orochimaru wasn't in a particularly analytical mood. He raged, "I'm going to find them and test out a few of my more violent reconditioning experiments on them until their brains are mush and they cant do anything but moan." He slammed his palmed into a convenient tree and listened with satisfaction as it came tumbling down in a series of perilous cracks.

The more rational part of Orochimaru caught up a moment later and he abruptly started laughing. He had been tricked by a trio of genin – though that moniker seemed wildly inappropriate – and he had no one but himself to blame. Sure the brats had used a few truly exceptional techniques, like the interesting clone technique he made a mental note to steal when the opportunity arose, but he could have still easily completed his goals if he had been the least bit serious.

Orochimaru had underestimated them and he understood that. So he reconsidered his plans to insure it wouldn't happen again and vanished in a body-flicker.

DTDTDTDTDT

Sasuke walked into a particularly unremarkable gardening store and asked if the flower in the red pot on display was an Amaranth. Any idiot could see it was a bluebell of course, but the question activated long dormant contingencies Danzo had made. Three minutes later Sasuke was waiting in the study of what he could only assume was Danzo's home with what looked like a rather irritated Yamanaka. Two minutes later a sleepy looking girl with orange hair was more or less dragged in by a girl with light blue hair and red eyes. Sasuke considered activating his own eyes in case it was a doujutsu of some kind, but decided against it since the others in the room obviously knew her.

The redhead grumbled to herself while organizing notes written in some strange cipher. She made a bit of a mess with what were obviously classified materials and the lack of professionalism was somewhat annoying, but it was still much better than the blue haired girls stare. She absolutely would not stop staring at him. Sasuke was about to ask what her problem was when Danzo's opportune arrival with what Sasuke assumed was an Abrume saved him.

The old man had an absolutely blank face that Sasuke was smart enough to interpret as either irritation or anger. The others in the room stood for his arrival, but he waved them all back down and abruptly asked, "Sasuke that method of contact was for emergencies."

The look Danzo gave Sasuke wasn't quite a reprimand, but Sasuke knew it would rapidly become one if he didn't explain instantly. "This isn't a clone sir. Orochimaru is in the forest of death."

The entire room focused on him at once. Danzo's voice had a tone in it Sasuke had never heard before, "Are you sure?"

Sasuke wanted to scream yes, but kept his cool and tried to give a full report. "We fought and escaped from a snake summoner that was at least Kakashi's level sir. Sakura has called a case rhino and is waiting on the ANBU response. Naruto is still in the forest in an unknown condition. He chose to not escape with us, presumably because wounds received from the initial confrontation with Orochimaru could have compromised our attempt to get away."

Danzo spent a second digesting the information before he started issuing orders, "Fu, Torune go get my wayward students. Mai I need you to go over what has happened in the forest with Sasuke and see if you can figure out what is going on. Rei you're with me. We are going to raise the alarm if Sakura hasn't managed to get the second division mobilized already."

The blue haired girl spoke up in a cool tone. "Captain, this could become an international incident if it becomes known that you are sending men into the forest to help your team."

Danzo frowned for a second then coldly addressed the two who were going to be sent into the forest, "Kill anyone who sees you."

Sasuke was left alone to wonder what exactly was going on with the red head girl who he assumed was Mai. She was asking him something but he was a to little busy worrying to care. Apparently his teacher was an ANBU commander at the very least, or even worse he was the head of an illegal military force. Oh and that didn't even get started on the whole 'kill whoever sees-"

"Pay attention!" The red headed girl finally got frustrated and shook him roughly before looking him dead in the eye. Sasuke's brain distantly informed him that was a really cocky move against a sharingan user, but Mai didn't seem to know that. "Everyone gets through things one step at a time. Your first step is to report." It struck Sasuke's frazzled mind as good enough advice, so he followed it.

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto wondered what exactly the poison had done to him. Because he was pretty sure that the Kyubi didn't normally wear a surprisingly stylish top hat made of fire. Also the floor was a wash of psychedelic reds and blues mixed with a sickly gray, but that wasn't nearly as interesting as the top hat. He really really wanted to flip it off of the overgrown fox's head, but the oversized bars kept somehow getting in his way.

The kyubi's voice rumbled, "So my host has arrived at last, to plead for his life no doubt."

Naruto wondered if the fox did the whole earth shaking deep voice thing on purpose and got a delightfully interactive hallucination of the fox spending years standing in front of a mirror trying to learn how to speak in something other than its natural falsetto voice. Naruto giggled at the image and asked, "Did you really once speak in a falsetto?" He laughed even harder when the fox's giant eyebrows twitched. The fox took a swipe at the bars where Naruto was standing and hit it hard enough to send the blonde on the other side skipping across the multicolored mess of water covering the floor.

Naruto pulled himself back into a sitting position with a groan and mumbled, "Stupid tsundere fox."

The fox smashed the bars again and shouted, "What was that you brat?"

Naruto hopped to his feet despite his pounding headache and shouted back, "I called you a tsundere. It means you are insecure and act all tough to hide the fact that you care." Naruto walked back up the cage while the fox shouted something else unimportant. "I read Mito's book Kurama." The fox fell quiet at last and Naruto spread his arms wide. "She left everything behind – your fears and goals and fate – I know them all."

When the Kyubi finally spoke its voice didn't have any of the rage or bluster Naruto had come to associate with the demon. It was cold and empty and all the more terrifying for it. "Speak my name so carelessly again and I will see you dead, seal or not Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto abruptly realized that taunting the greatest of the tailed beasts was the height of idiocy, and wondered why it had seemed like a good idea at the time. He opened his mouth to reply but the words wouldn't come out. The Kyubi snarled, "Abandon your arrogance human. You are a worm elevated only by stolen power and borrowed knowledge. You are not _her_, you are just a vessel and a dying one at that."

The Kyubi's words slipped past Naruto without really sinking in. On some level he understood that he was dying from Orochimaru's poisoned sword, but he couldn't really grasp that he would actually die. So, he met the Kyubi's slitted eyes and told him, "Don't look down on me. A worm? Maybe I am. Did you know all beasts are in the end the food of worms? I am a proud shinobi of the leaf; I will keep my worm like pride and steal and borrow as I please Kurama."

"Then die as you have lived Naruto Uzumaki." A red, burning wind gathered behind the Kyubi and swept out from the cage. For a single immeasurable moment Naruto felt like he was being roasted alive, then a faint layer of blue light sprung up around his still smoking form to protect him from the Kyubi's onslaught.

In response the Kyubi just increased the intensity of the red wind, driving Naruto to his knees in the process. The floor itself started to burn as the blues and reds scattered across it waged war on each other, burning and crushing the sickly gray spots in the process. Naruto knew he was in trouble, for the first time in his life he could feel how strong the kyubi really was. Only a fraction was making it pass the fourth's seal, but it would be enough.

The red wind's pressure was too much, it was like Naruto suddenly found himself at the bottom of the ocean; all Naruto could do was try and maintain the thin layer of blue light he had somehow summoned to protect himself against imminent immolation as the Kybui's power ground him to nothing. But that realization didn't help him at all; it took everything he had to maintain the thin layer of blue light he had somehow summoned to escape immolation.

Then the Kyubi increased the intensity of the wind again and it slowly began to eat away at Naruto's little shield of blue light. Naruto felt despair creep over him as the shield got thinner and thinner taking the fight out of him well before it finally gave out. When the red wind tore into him at last it was almost a relief.

Then the hallucinations came. Hundreds of visions of death and despair danced across Naruto's mind. In one he cut down Danzo-sensei himself then mocked Lain as she tried to avenge him. In another the old man hokage died at Naruto's hand with his face locked up in despair, unwilling or unable to kill Naruto to save the village. He saw Sakura with little tears in her eyes half shouting half sobbing, "Naruto you idiot – You had better live …. you promised."

Everything stopped. The red wind fell to nothing and the haunting hallucinations fell apart in its absence. Then light, bright and blue spilled across the floor around him and Naruto stood before quietly acknowledging, "I did didn't I?"

The kyubi sounded more unsettled than outraged to Naruto's ears when it rumbled, "How?"

Naruto forced a cocky smile on his face and said, "That's my ninja way Kurama. I will never give up. I will never abandon a comrade. And I will never break an honest promise." Naruto took a deep breath before continuing, "And I have a promise for you Kurama. Tell me your desires and I will fulfill them. Tell me your fears and I will banish them. Tell me your enemies and I shall eliminate them. Tell me what you have lost and I will reclaim it. Become my sword and I shall be your shield against all those who seek you."

The fox snorted in relief at the dramatics of its host. "That oath was better when it came from Mito's mouth."

The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched in response, but before he could think up a reply the Kyubi spoke again. "You are an adequate host after all Naruto Uzumaki. Array the heads of my enemies before me and let me hear the lamentation of their kin. Then we will talk of you being more than that."

Naruto smirked and said, "Good enough." before turning from the cage and leaving.

After Naruto was gone a voice called out to the Kyubi, "You like him."

The Kyubi rumbled back, "Quiet."

DTDTDTDTDT

Naruto felt like he was being bathed in fire when he finally woke. His brief war with the Kyubi had definitely affected his body, but he didn't have the time or the equipment to determine exactly how much damage had been done. All he could do was put his faith in the seal and deal with more immediate concerns, like why he was surrounded by the sounds of battle.

His ability to sense chakra came to him easier than ever. The dark little wooden hallow someone had stuffed him into fell away as his chakra sense expanded; he could suddenly feel Kiba and Hinata standing outside trying to protect him against three vaguely familiar chakra signatures. Shino was no where to be found.

And team eight was losing. It wasn't obvious yet, but the slight fluttering of Hinata's and Kiba's chakra signature was more than enough to tell Naruto that they were already desperate and exhausted. The battle came to a pause for a moment and the largest of the three enemy signatures, presumably the leader shouted, "This is your last chance, hand over the Uchiha."

Naruto froze at the words and a slow cruel smile spread across his face. It was too much of a coincidence for Orochimaru to come and evaluate them immediately before an assassination squad came after Sasuke. They were obviously Orochimaru's men, which meant they might know something useful about the snake's actions.

Two months ago Naruto might have jumped out of the hallow to help the other team without another thought. A series of bitter training exercises where he had been totally outmatched combined with Orochimaru's recent demonstration about the perils of underestimating opponents stopped that reaction cold. Naruto ignored Kiba's rather rude reply to the sound trio and tried to evaluate his combat status. He had just recovered from a poisoning and he hurt badly. His chakra flow was stable though and as far as he could test in the confines of the little hallow he could make a full range of movements. Which was more than a little shocking honestly; he had expected his leg at the very least to be severely damaged.

He hurt, but he could deal with that. After all, Danzo-sensei had assigned them to protect team eight and pain wasn't an excuse to abandon duty. And if he was being just a bit reckless, well, no one could complain about it.

Naruto fed a bit of chakra into the burned mess of a seal on his shoulder and winced at the spike of pain he got in return. But the seal still functioned and the little hole he was hidden in abruptly became a lot more crowded when four shadow clones appeared around him.

Naruto waited for them to dig themselves into the ground using a simple earth technique before he pushed the cloth covering the entrance to his little hallow aside, and smiled at the largest of the three enemy chakra signatures while surging his own monstrous chakra as high as his battered body could stand. The battle fell quiet as he stood up, an opening which Naruto used to ask, "You said something interesting earlier. Am I correct in assuming that you are Orochimaru's?" They didn't answer, and they didn't have to. Their expressions were more than enough confirmation for Naruto. So he continued, "I thought so. Now I can't just let you leave."

Hinata and Kiba spoke at once and Naruto couldn't really make either one of them out. He thought Hinata sounded relieved and Kiba's was a warning of some kind, but he ignored them. Naruto couldn't afford to let them distract him if he was going to fight properly.

Naruto recognized the three opponents as the sound team of Dosu, Zaku and Kin he had been briefed on. They had not faired well at all in their fight against team eight if the way one of Dosu's arms was hanging limply and the big claw mark on Zaku's face was any indication. Danzo-sensei had seriously underestimated team eight, especially if Naruto was right and they were about to execute some sort of desperation attack. It wouldn't be necessary now; Naruto already had a plan to destroy the sound team.

The one with the holes in his arms broke under the pressure Naruto was deliberately exerting first. The idiot shouted something about how he wouldn't be scared of a half dead freak an launched an impressive wind attack out of his arms.

It might have even killed Naruto if Zaku hadn't telegraphed his attack so badly. As it was Naruto was already enacting he first stage of his plan before the attack was even launched. When the attack hit where Naruto had been standing it kicked up a huge dust cloud; Naruto gladly used the cover to create second wave of shadow clones before pulling his spare tanto free of its sheath. Stage one of his plan to deal with the sound trio was to capitalize on the multiple shocks he had given them by telling them he knew they were working for Orochimaru and surging chakra his chakra so high had caused. He needed to use the brief period of disorganization to eliminate one of his opponents.

Naruto's first shadow clone slashed its tanto towards Zaku's face intent on ending the fight then and there. It wasn't quite fast enough, but it did force the targets arms high, leaving his core wide open for Naruto's own tanto to cut a mortal blow right underneath his ribcage. The third and fourth clone died a moment later to shield Naruto from some kind of vibration based counterattack Dosu launched in a vain attempt to save his teammate.

The battle froze again as Zaku gasped uselessly, trying to force air into his collapsed lungs. Naruto suddenly felt sick, but couldn't let that distract him any more than he could afford to react to the shocked looks that Hinata and Kiba had plastered on their faces. So Naruto shoved the dying sound ninja off of his tanto and tried to ignore what exactly was splattering on him. He must have looked horrifying covered in blood as he was because when he turned to face the remaining two members of the sound team, Kin broke and ran at the sight.

Naruto modified his plans on the fly and pulsed his chakra through a meaningless hand sign while shouting **Wood Release: Thousand Hands Prison**. It was a signal to the clones he had hidden at the start of the fight. They had long since henge themselves into wooden monsters covered in bark instead of skin. Kin got another two steps before wooden monsters that were horrifying to even Naruto burst from the ground around here and grappled on to her. She had a few moments to shriek and flail wildly before they dragged her back underground with them.

While the clones could survive underground almost indefinitely, their prisoner had a minute or two at the maximum. Luckily the fake wood release jutsu had done its job and further unbalanced the last member of the sound trio, and a fight was no longer necessary. Naruto used his advantage to grab Dosu, one hand on his rather dangerous arm and one hand on his vest. He looked the last member of the trio in the face and said, "Go tell the snake what happened." Then he shoved Dosu to the ground and wondered what the two rather familiar chakra signatures watching the fight thought they were doing.

Dosu didn't question his good fortune and ran head over heals into the woods. Naruto waited a moment before he had his clones deposit a thoroughly tied Kin back on to the surface. Naruto grabbed the ninja wire bindings where they all came together in a knot on her back and pulled her over his shoulder, earning a squeak of pain from her for his efforts. He turned back towards team eight and said, "I owe you guys for what you did and I will repay it, believe it. But for now you two need to find Shino and get to the tower as soon as possible." Then he made the signs necessary for the body-flicker.

Before he could finish Kiba replied, "Its just something leaf ninja do. You can tell that to your insane sensei too."

The last thing Naruto heard before he vanished was a whispered 'thanks'. He smiled at the words and gave Fu and Torune the 'all clear' hand sign.

**A/N Chapter:**

**Sasuke can use the sharingan to learn the pressure wave technique in specific way, but that particular technique is only important because of its versatility which the sharingan can't help him with. To use that particular technique in a useful manner Sasuke would have to learn it the hard way.**

**The whole dust crater / clone thing was something else team seven designed to kill Gaara. He still needs to breath, ergo forcing him to chase around clones in a poisonous cloud would kill him.**

**Remember this Sasuke is wearing goggles b/c Kakashi threw chilipower in his eyes one time.**

**The original escape from Orochimaru involved both team eight and Gaara, but I didn't like it very much so you got this instead. This is also why team eight are either apparently incapable of detecting numerous high level jutsu in quick secession on their doorstop or decided that a place where numerous high level jutsu are used is a bad place to be. You decide which.**

**Case Rhino means a s-class hostile has penetrated village security. Most chuunin and above memorize the cases, thus they are neither particularly secret or secure. Gennin aren't taught them because they are normally with jounin who already know them. Sort of like someone in a hospital shouting code black. (Please don't actually do that).**

**Rei is Root's third company commander and is the last named non-cannon member of ROOT who will appear. Out of the Ocs she is the least developed in general and is a bit of a last minute addition. The fate of the first company commander will be a minor plot point later but he never will get a name. You can call him Leeroy Jenkins if you want though.**

**I rewrote the Kyubi scene several times and am still not really satisfied with it. The whole scene played out like an acid trip in the first draft, but Naruto and the Kyubi coming to some sort of resolution while one of them is tripping out of their mind seemed a bit cheap. So then I rewrote it where the kyubi actually took control of Naruto's body for a bit, but it seemed like it came from nowhere when I reread it. So you got this instead. I'm not sure if I like it better or not.**

**Shino is out looking for the other two members of team seven. He's doing that because I'm quite confident an intact team eight would smash the sound trio. If you're a Shino, Kiba or Hinata fan don't worry they will eventually get fights that are described.**

**The wood release thing is a bit of a joke toward that guy who keeps telling me Naruto needs a bloodline. For those of you who are confused I would like to clarify: Naruto does not have the wood release, he was just tricking the sound team and team eight.**

**A/N General:**

**This actually came out pretty different from the original version that I story boarded almost a year ago. In that version team seven pretty much camps the tower to ambush teams and Orochimaru doesn't want to start a fight where a bunch of jounin are liable to appear at a moments notice. **

**Team Eight continues to prove themselves to be a lot better than suspected and Team seven hears some rumors about their sensei for the first time.**

**I'm going to try to have the next chapter up on 2/10 for the one year anniversary of this Fic. Thank you for your continued support. Two arcs left and maybe three or four chapters until the half-way break point of the series. At the break point I'm going to work on some of my other stuff for a bit before I start what I'm going to call the side stories arcs, which will detail what occurs over the Naruto time skip. I'm not sure if the side stories will be posted in this fic or if I will start a new one for each side story.**


End file.
